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HISTORY 

OF THE 

First Light Battery 

Connecticut Volunteers, 

1861-1865. 



PERSONAL RECORDS AND REMINISCENCES. 



THE STORY OF THE BATTERY 

From Its Organization to the Present Time. 

compiled from 

Official Records, Personal Interviews, Private Diaries, War 

Histories and Individual Experiences. 



illustrated 

BY ORIGINAL DRAWINGS, ETCHINGS, PORTRAITS AND MAPS. 



HISTORIAN, 
HERBERT W. BEECHER, 



VOLUME I. 



New YORK: 
A. T. De La Mare Ptg. and Pub. Co., Ltd., 

2 TO 8 DUANE STREET. , .' ; 



Up the hill-side, down the glen, 
Rouse the sleeping citizen: 
Summon out the might of men! 

Like a Hon growling low — 
Like a night storm rising slow — 
Like the tread of unseen foe — 

It is coming — it is nigh ! 

Stand your homes and altars by, 

On your own free threshold die. 

Freedom's soil has only place 
For a free and fearless race — 
None for traitors false and base. 

Perish party — perish clan; 
Strike together while you can. 
Like the strong arm of one man. 

With one heart and with one mouth. 
Let the North speak to the South ; 
Speak the word befitting both. 

John G. Whittier. 



O.oto, 



TO THE 

IMMORTAL 

AND 

GLORIOUS MEMORY 

OF THE ILLUSTRIOUS MEMBERS 
OF THE 

First Light Battery 
Connecticut Volunteer Artillery 

WHO 

Responding to the Call of Duty and PatriotisiM, Sacrificed Their Lives 
AND Sealed Their Love of the Flag with Their Blood 

ON MANY BATTLEFIELDS 
THIS 
MEMORIAL HISTORY OF PATRIOTIC SERVICE 
AND UNFLINCHING COURAGE IS 

Fraternally Dedicated 

BY THE 

Historian and 
Editor 



PREFACE. 




OMPILING a history of a volunteer org-anization 
nearly forty years after its inception, when many of 
its members have passed through the "gates ajar" 
and the others are scattered throughout the country, 
must necessarily be an arduous undertaking, and 
without the hearty co-operation of those within 
reach, an absolute impossibility. 

The historian, believing that the record of the 
Battery was worth preserving in imperishable shape, determined to do all 
that was possible to make the history as perfect as circumstances would 
allow. It was his desire that the story of the Battery should be told 
by its members as nearly as possible in their own words. To obtain this 
result he has written hundreds of letters, traveled thousands of miles, inter- 
viewed many of the surviving comrades and the descendants of those who 
have passed from the earth-life, in order that this history may be a valued 
possession through succeeding generations. 

The historian called to his assistance a staff of writers and artists, to 
whom he tenders his sincere acknowledgments, and especially to John De 
Morgan, who has performed the onerous duties of editor so satisfactorily. 
Mr. De Morgan was well qualified for the undertaking, both by education 
and instinct. Educated in an English university, he made history his chief 
study, and became associated with some of the most brilliant literary and 
political thinkers of Europe. He espoused the cause of the Union during 
the War of the Rebellion, and has written largely on the subject on both 
sides of the Atlantic. In recent years he visited the battlefields of the South 
and became especially conversant with those with which the First Connecti- 
cut Light Battery was so closely identified. In the present work he has 



ii PREFACE. 

been indefatigable in making researches, compiling data and editing the 
stories told by the comrades. 

The historian acknowledges with grateful thanks the assistance he has 
received from Comrades Edward Griswold and John T. Sloan, who have 
worked energetically to make the history complete and authentic; from 
General Alfred P. Rockwell, Captain James B. Clinton, and Major Seward; 
from Lieutenants Theron Upson, Sylvanus Dickinson, George P. Bliss, 
John S. Cannon and Hezekiah B. Smith; from Comrades William M. 
Fowler, Sanford, Wells, Huntington and others, who by correspondence 
and advice have contributed to the accuracy of the work. 

Some of the comrades kept diaries during the war and these v^'ere 
placed at the historian's disposal. Charles A. Hotchkiss wrote very 
voluminously and with great intelligence of the Battery's doings from the 
first enlistment to the final mustering out. Though he has passed from 
this earth-life and entered into his rest, his diary, used copiously in this 
history, will perpetuate his memory. The diaries kept by Lieutenant Clark 
and Comrades Henry Tallmadge, Oliver K. Abels, Ebenezer Wakeley, Jr., 
Francis V. Brown and J. H. Holbrook have been of very great use in 
supplying valuable data. 

Every incident relating to the movements of the Battery and its 
co-operation with other regiments and organizations has been verified and 
corroborated by the editor by diligent research through hundreds of 
volumes, including the "Official Reports of the War of the Rebellion" (200 
volumes), "The Battles and Leaders of the Civil War," the histories writ- 
ten by Abbott, Lossing, the Comte de Paris, Horace Greeley, Ridpath, 
Rossiter Johnson, Humphreys, Carleton and others; "The Memoirs of 
General Grant," "The Life and Times of General Grant," memoirs of 
Sheridan, vSherman, Butler, Beauregard, Longstreet, Early, Jefferson Davis, 
etc. The regimental histories of the 6th Connecticut Volunteers, the 15th 
Connecticut, the ist Connecticut Heavy Artillery, the 79th New York 
(Highlanders) and others. Magazine articles from the pens of " Baldy " 
Smith, Quincy A. Gillmore, Isaac I. Stevens, Hawley, Graves, Gordon, 
Humphreys, John Morgan, Kilmer, Mrs. Pickett and several other writers, 
Union and Confederate, whose knowledge and experience have proved to 
be of great value. 



PREFACE. iii 

As each chapter was written, printed proofs were sent to the officers 
and to the comrades who participated in the events there detailed, and 
many valuable criticisms, additions, corrections and suggestions were 
received, more especially from General Rockwell, Comrades Griswold, John 
T. Sloan and Theron Upson. These were all carefully gone over by the 
editor, and in some instances the chapter was entirely rewritten by him. 
Every day new matter was received, and this had to be edited, classified 
and verified, rendering the progress of the work necessarily slow. Every 
letter received, each item and newspaper clipping bearing on the story of 
the Battery was carefully examined and its statements verified under the 
supervision of Mr. De Morgan, who on several occasions attended the re- 
unions, and conferences of the comrades in order that no fact should escape 
attention. 

It was the historian's desire that the reader of this book should be able 
to get some idea of the individual sacrifices, of the sufferings both in camp 
and on the field, of the heroic self-abnegation of the citizen soldiers, as well 
as the spirit of the times, of the sentiments of the private soldiers and the 
influence of public opinion on men and officers. The reader is earnestly 
asked not to mistake a statement of fact for a criticism of the conduct of the 
war, for it has been the historian's wish that nothing should appear which 
would reopen old sores or be construed into an arraignment of the Govern- 
ment or of the commanding officers. 

And now the labors of the historian and his able assistants, editor, 
writers and artists, are over. The book, with its stories as told by the com- 
rades of what they saw and heard and did, goes forth to the survivors and 
their families. Everything has been done to make it worthy of the citizen 
soldiers who offered their lives for the sacred cause of human freedom. 

The book is unique among the regimental histories hitherto published 
because it is the private soldier's own story, the narrative of camp life as 
well as active service, tracing day by day the individual history of the 
comrades, doing justice to all and telling a plain, unvarnished tale of a 
soldier's routine of duty, with its intermissions of pleasure and excitement. 
It tells how the bond of sympathy becomes close between comrades who 
pursue the same routine, go to rest and rise up at the call of the bugle, 
served with the same food and drink, wearing the same clothes, all obeying 



IV 



PREFACE. 



the same orders, having to endure the hardships and perils side by side, 
and all engaged in one common purpose with tens of thousands of others. 
Only those who have experienced it can really know how entirely the time 
of a soldier is occupied, for even the odd minutes between drills, roll-calls, 
guard and fatigue duty are utilized in cleaning equipments, darning socks, 
mending clothes, writing home, or improvising some new amusement for 
himself and tent mates. 

The history of a regiment must be dear to its members, and the historian 
of the First Connecticut Light Battery feels a pleasurable pride in thus 
testifying to his comrades his appreciation of their good fellowship by 
handing down to posterity this record of the doings of his fellow-comrades 
during the troublous times of 1861 to 1865, when the nation was shaken to 
its foundation and the dark clouds hung heavily over the land, and from 
which they, with him, saw the glorious light of Freedom burst with a new 
message of "peace and good- will to all mankind," making it impossible to 
forget the lessons of that great war, for 

Though thousands lie cold in the graves of the wars, 
Those who survive them shall never prove, never, 

False to the flag of the stripes and the stars! 

May, igoi. 





VOLUME I. 
INTRODUCTION 7 

CHAPTER I. 

THE CALL TO ARMS. 

Lincoln's second call for volunteers ; Connecticut's quota ; Gov. Buckingham decides to 
recruit and equip a light battery; commissions officers to recruit; enthusiasm in 
Guilford and New Haven; Hebron and Hartford recruits; Guilford's " send-off ;" 
" Don't send the boys away like that." 23 

CHAPTER II. 

CAMP TYLER. 

How "Sod" Blatchley came to enlist; his adventures on the way to the camp; the first 
night under canvas: Lieutenant Porter arrives with Hebron contingent and drum 
corps; " Pound her!" the first morning; " Turn out, last time around;" the Arkan- 
sas Colonel ; how the farmers lost their fences; "gunpowder fever;" "Mary had a 
little lamb ; " the Battery blacksmith and why he did guard duty ; Comrades Jillson, 
Peck and Reynolds drill the recruits; mustered in U. S. service; the kicking 
horses; fetching guns from Meriden ; review by Gen. Tyler; election of officers ; 
disappointment and discontent of many; Comrade Beecher's first fight with the 
Battery; Comrade Griswold and his skating adventure; the raid on the sutler; 
"Sod's" challenge to the chaplain; football and a mishap; the jug of whisky; 
" Is my nose on my face, or my face attached to my nose ?" ; Gen. Butler reviews 
the Battery 31 

CHAPTER III. 

FROM NEW HAVEN TO PORT ROYAL. 

Break camp ; " farewell to home; Blatchley nearly a deserter; marching through New 
Haven; on board the Ebn City; Park Barracks, New York; seeing the sights ; 
Captain Rockwell; " Remove that red cord ;" potency of syrup of squills ; on board 
Elliuood Walter; anchored off Staten Island; storm at sea; death of horses; sick- 
ness of men ; mistaken for a Confederate Privateer; how the officers' beef disap- 
peared; " Sod" and the biscuits; Comrade Henry Grow loses part of a finger ; Hilton 
Head ; first death in the Battery 58 



vi CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER IV. 

EARLY CAMP LIFE IN BEAUFORT. 

The luxury of soft bread ; on the verge of mutiny ; how the horses were landed ; "got any 
pies, auntie?"; how the "real old Carolina gentlemen " hurried away from Beau- 
fort; searching for buried treasure; arrival of the Pla7iter; daily inspections 
inaugurated ; how the Regular battery was beaten by the Connecticut boys ; Sher- 
man's disgust; the Captain and the frogs; Tallmadge trades his watch; brigade in- 
spection; the raid on the peanut vender; bogus shinplaster money; wearing the 
wooden overcoat; Comrade Gesner's experience; how Comrade Sloan arrested 
" Sod" Blatchley ; Comrade Griswold's story of a blackberry dumpling 85 

CPIAPTFR V. 

POCOTALIGO. 

Left section off to the front; crossing the ferry; the negro and the mule; origin of the 
name " Pocotaligo;" at Pocotaligo bridge; a sharp skirmish ; rush of contrabands for 
freedom ; capture of a young cavalryman ; "girls wouldn't speak to us if we didn't 
enlist;" Colonel Christ's i-eport; unjust charge against Lieutenant Cannon; the 

Rhode Islander who had "got all the d d Yankee blood out of him;" Colonel 

Christ's nervousness; Confederate report of the skirmish 117 

CHAPTER VI. 

SKIRMISHING ON JAMES ISLAND. 

Resolve to punish Charleston ; General Benham's plan ; First Light Battery assigned to 
General Stevens' division ; a comrade and the smoked herrings ; loading the Hon- 
duras; quick way to land horses; Lieutenant Porter uses the Battery as skirmishers; 
"action front and drive the enemy before us;" trying to secure an abandoned gun; 
Comrade Joseph Fowler reported killed; surprise when he returned to camp; the 
tempting supper which had to be left; camping in the rain; salt water for the 
coffee ; Confederate General fears the Battery ; the 6th Connecticut ; Comrades 
Seward and Griswold relate their experiences ; Comrade Joseph Doolittle and 
the kicking mare; Comrade Sloan's close call; Captain Rockwell and Corporal 
Scranton crawl close up to the enemy's fort and hear the soldiers talking . . . 131 

CHAPTER VII. 

BATTLE OF SECESSIONVILLE. 

Was it a blunder or a crime ? General Stevens did not approve ; "plan ? there is no plan ;" 
Lieutenant Porter on General Stevens' staff; the rapid march across the cotton field ; 
capture of the enemy's pickets ; gallant charge of the Sth Michigan ; Light Battery in 
the post of danger ; war in earnest; the brave Highlanders; the howitzers' galling 
fire; the comic capture of a Confederate by a tall soldier; Colonel Hawley and rhe 
Battery; Comrade Holly's close call and marvelous coolness; the kilhng of the 



CONTENTS. vii 

horses; "darn you, now I guess you've got it;" Comrade Abels and the broken 
harness; Comrade Upson's story; Comrade Fowler and the Captain's horse; Colonel 
Fenton and the brave Michigans; Battery praised in official report; Captain Rock- 
well's report and later criticism ; Comrade Hotchkiss describes the battle ; erection 
of earthworks; Comrade Sloan and the side of beef; back to Beaufort 143 

CHAPTER VIII. 

SUMMER AT BEAUFORT. 

Beaufort an earthly paradise; left section recruited to full battery during absence of right 
and centre sections at Secessionville ; Lieutenant Cannon, acting captain; voted a 
"good fellow;" Lieutenant Seward appointed post treasurer; duties of the office; 
strange way to audit books ; Fanny and her pups ; picket duty ; Corporal Hunting- 
ton and the mule; Comrade Fowler's good story of " de man wid de har on his 
teeth;" Baity and the "friend of Massa Beauregard;" great mortality; shocking 
burial episode, " push him in;" Comrade Brown the victim of a practical joke; 
revival meetings end in a tragedy ; how Captain Rockwell lost a horse ; Pigeon Point ; 
Camp Seward ; " Mark Hall's coffee pot ; " " kape yer eye on the agle ; " search for 
honey ; aggravating loss of a fine opossum ; Comrade Riggs promoted Lieutenant 
ist South Carolina Volunteers; Comrades Leeds Brown and J. R. Hull have an 
adventure on Ladies Island 172 

CHAPTER IX. 
ST. John's bluff. 
Left section off to Florida; the St. John's River at night; object of expedition; firing the 
cottages; incendiary chased by Captain Rockwell; Comrade Beecher tells a good 
snake story; plot to blow up the Unionists when they lowered the enemy's flag 
foraging; an alligator hunt; baiting a trap; " it's the devil;" the inland voyage 
Comrade Baird and his good fortune ; Comrade Griswold's story of the journey back 
the section has a narrow escape from capture; Captain Rockwell officially 
praised ^97 

CHAPTER X. 

WINTER IN CAMP. 

Orders to reduce the Battery; Lieutenant Seward gets his discharge and becomes ist 
Lieutenant 7th Connecticut; Lieutenant Cannon leaves the service; raw recruits; 
skirmish at Pocotaligo; Battery fires salute of minute guns over General Mitchel's 
grave ; Comrade Hotchkiss and his praying horse ; confiscating the liquor sent from 
home; how a keg of beer found its way into the camp; a private still; playing 
chess ; holidays in camp ; Captain Rockwell's St. Patrick's Day reception ; a useless 
voyage to Stono Inlet ; Admiral Du Pont and (General Hunter ; General Saxton's disci- 
pline ; Sergeant Clinton promoted ; presentation from Battery ; exciting picket duty ; 



viii CONTENTS. 

Comrade Hotchkiss attends a colored prayer meeting; contrabands a nuisance at 
Beaufort; raid made for darkies; able-bodied negroes sent to Hilton Head; fleas; 
searching for wine in the cisterns; burial association; Mark Hall's chicken pie; 
how Independence Day was celebrated 209 

CPAPTER XI. 

THE PON PON RIVER EXPEDITION. 

Call for a volunteer to take charge of a squad of colored soldiers ; Corporal John F. Bliss 
dons a lieutenant's blouse; right section on board Gover7tor Milton; Comrade 
Fowler has an adventure; kindness toward "Sod" causes him to be left behind ; 
arrested as a deserter; expedition to Willtown Bluff; Comrades Huntington and Mer- 
win find a deserted dug-out, and are rewarded with ripe tomatoes, books and a 
guitar; piles across the river; Captain Trowbridge's adventures; Enoch Dean 
aground; the Governor Mil/on rsiked by shells; Comrade Shepard's courage and 
presence of mind ; " It was a hot time for the boys ;" Corporal Bliss kept his guns at 
work under difficulty; negro raid; a black panic; "I got the name without the 
pay;" the Governor Milton run on the piles; guns thrown overboard; Corporal 
Huntington's bravery; Comrade Hotchkiss tells the story of the saving of the men 
on the Milton; how the contrabands came on board the yf//« Adatns; jirejudice 
against negro soldiers; Comrade Bliss rejoices at his return to " white folks;" Col. 
Higginson's offical report; Comrade McNary wounded; Engineer Mills killed; 
damage m Willtown 236 

CHAPTER XII. 

THE FIGHT AT GRIMBALL's LANDING. 

Third expedition against Charleston ; " bumpety-bump on an old ferry-boat ; " Gen. Gill- 
more's plan ; Fort Wagner ; Captain Rockwell shows the folly of delay ; failure of 
charge ; (Comrade Fowler's insomnia ; the Battery under fire ; an erratic shot ; Com- 
rade Norwood and his upset coffee kettle ; three horses killed ; the sagacity of a 
wounded horse; Comrade Albro wounded; Dr. Greene, 54th Massachusetts, praises 
the rapid firing of the Battery; "what is the matter with this piece ?" how the 
shell was extracted ; horrible treatment of the negro soldiers ; Captain Rockwell 
describes the evacuation of James Island; gallantry of the 24th Massachuesetts 
(colored) ; death of Colonel Shaw ; " We 've buried him with his niggers ; " deeds of 
daring on both sides 251 

CHAPTER XIII. 

FOLLY ISLAND. 

Prospecting for a camp; how Comrade Joseph Fowler's sound sleep endangered his 
liberty, quaker guns; sinking wells; water, salt as the ocean; bathing incidents; 
constructing the parallels; the "swamp angel;" Comrade William Fowler's con- 



CONTENTS. IX 

versation with a Charleston citizen after the war; bombarding Sumter; Comrade 
Leonard's insubordination ; Comrade Hart Landon tells a good story ; the high 
tides; fleas; a proposed library; "starve the stomach and feed the brain;" Mark 
Hall writes home for a fishing net; General Vogdes and the lobscouse ; athletic 
sports; Comrade Sloan's reminiscences; Fanny and the rats; the Battery receives 
two rifled guns; General Aiken, of Connecticut visits camp and addresses men in 
favor of re-enlistment; Captain Rockwell urges the men to re-enlist in a speech 
which offends some; " Furthermores ;" how the Gillmore medals were awarded; 
Comrade Sloan's horse has the blind staggers 268 

CHAPTER XIV. 
John's island. 
Expedition to John's Island; colored men as cannoneers; Confederate Goverment's orders 
respecting armed negroes captured ; death for white officers of colored regiments ; 
Comrade Nolan's experiences; silencing the enemy's guns; General Schimmelfen- 
nig and the bullet-dodgers; back to Folly Island; camp reorganized; Comrade 
Clark's tent burned ; bombardment of Charleston ; Greek fire ; "An' den I got off;" 
Comrade Joseph Fowler and the sausages; Vogdes' nerves; exciting debate; 
Battery ordered to Fort Monroe ^95 

CHAPTER XV. 

THE CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION. 

Christian Association founded; Constitution and by-laws; Fac simile of signatures; Mr. 
Bacon's gift; Officers; the chapel tent; good done; meetings discontinued . . 313 

CHAPTER XVI. 

FROM FOLLY ISLAND TO BERMUDA HUNDRED. 

.^oor means of cransportation ; on board the Ella Knight and General Meigs \ dancing 
onboard; prayer meetings; "Possum" Hall shooting porpoises; how "Sod" got 
a good, juicy roast all ready for the table; an "internal revolution"; feeding the 
fishes; Comrade Dan. Scranton's sad plight; Comrade Gnswold's amusing descrip- 
tion of the voyage ; the delight of the comrades at the thought of going to Virginia; 
assigned to the Army of the James; camp at Gloucester Point; Hotchkiss and the 
pickaninnies; shelter tents in place of A tents; feet as turkey roosts; surplus 
baggage sent to Norfolk ; General Butler reviews the Army of the James ; thirty 
thousand men pass in review; sunstrokes; a miniature cyclone and rain storm; 
how Comrade Lawrence viewed it; " Break camp " ; delays; up the James River; 
flags flying, bands playing, men singing, but below the decks tons of powder and 
shells; "On to Richmond!"; a salute for Comrade Stevens; landing at Bermuda 
Hundred 322 



X CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XVII. 

MARCHING TO BERMUDA FRONT. 

Grant a lieutenant-general ; the man for the place ; not afraid of politicians ; " headquar- 
ters in the field ; " instructions to General Butler ; Butler's congratulatory address ; 
another delay; Captain Rockwell's criticism; "God's own country;" Comrade 
Dwight Hall and the lamb; Butler's narrow escape from capture ; looked like an 
animated jelly bag ; Butler and his horse Almond Eye ; skirmishing ; Comrade 
Dickinson describes the camping ground ; Captain Rockwell shows how Butler 
failed to appreciate the situation ; Butler tries to have Gillmore removed .... 334 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

MARCHING TOWARD PETERSBURG. 

Order to march ; at the railroad crossing ; the wounded Unionist ; the unburied dead ; 
Mark Halls stone pillow; tearing up the railroad track ; Butler's incorrect state- 
ment ; the colored cavalry ; battery ordered to fire on them by mistake ; " if you had 
fired we would have wiped you oflF the face of the earth ;" Comrade Coss and the 
cavalryman; monkey cavalry; right section firing and retreating; "keep those 
horses quiet;" Comrade Dickinson describes the anxiety felt for the section; first 
use of the magazine rifle; how a section of the Battery made the Home Guard 
Battery fly for safety; Comrade William Fowler and the New Haven woman; "I 
know what a mean lot of folks you are ; " how Comrade Fowler made the coffee in 
the intervals of bullet-dodging 348 

CHAPTER XIX. 

THE BATTLE OF CHESTER STATION. 

May loth, 1S64, never to be forgotten ; the right section in the lane in front of the Winfree 
house ; a delay of ten minutes and the section would have been captured ; " you've 
lost your battery, General;" the left and centre sections march at double-quick to 
save the right; a fine display of horsemanship; Comrade Sloan's description of that 
march ; the shell scattering the pigs ; Comrade Wakeley tells how he was wounded ; 
Comrade Daniel Scranton's wonderful feat; the "rebel yell;" the three charges 
by the enemy ; Comrade Marcus Hall wounded; the woods on fire; sharpshooters 
try to pick off "the men behind the gun;" how the Battery demolished t e 
Winfree house chimney; Captain Rockwell's remembrance of the fight; "Sod's" 
wound; "I've got a piece of shell in me as big as your fist;" Comrade Griswold 
narrates his experience; the sad scene at the end of the day; "God forbid that I 
shall ever again see the like," exclaimed General Foster; Battery at one time nearly 
surrounded; the Battery praised; Comrade Hall's hospital experience; Comrade 
Wakeley tells his experiences after he was wounded and up to the date of his 
discharge from the service; the dispatch bearer; Gillmore's doubt ; the man jumps 
on an officer's horse ; "stop spy;" Comrade Fowler's insomnia; seizes the spy; the 



CONTENTS. xi 

life-or-death struggle; Comrade Merwin to the rescue; suspected spy taken to 
headquarters; Captain Rockwell's official report gcg 

CHAPTER XX. 

ON THE RICHMOND AND PETERSBURG PIKE. 

Enemy massing at Drewry's Bluff; Comrade Hotchkiss' entry in his diary; what the Con- 
federates thought; "boots and saddles;" on the march; firing by half-battery; 
camped at Perdue's farm ; the Half Way House ; skirmishing ; Comrade Griswold 
tells a harrowing story ; the officer's horse and the bees; how a sow and litter of pigs 
surrendered ; " on to Richmond ;" Manchester only 14 miles away ; the night alarm ; 
the whole brigade called to arms ;" it was only a calf " 3go 

CHAPTER XXI. 

BATTLE OF PROCTOR's CREEK. 

Heavy firing heard; "forward ;" the terrible thirst; a spring of water; no one allowed to 
stop ; the officer and Comrade Gridley ; a line of ambulances filled with wounded ; 
crossing the railroad track; General Foster and the skulking few; "scout to the 
front — you;" the General cheered the troops; Captain Rockwell's danger; Major 
Brooks, by his side, struck by a shell; Comrade Jillson's coolness; Lieutenant Met- 
calf in attempting to countermarch the Battery gets his section tangled up in the 
wood; Comrade Dickinson's narrative; Comrade Richardson reports the "Battery 
cut in pieces;" the left section in a hot place; a shell wounds seven comrades and 
kills six horses; Comrade Bliss shows great courage; Lieutenant Metcalf and 
Private Wilmot killed; Comrade Elias O. Norton tells the story of the battle; Com- 
rade Hart Landon's experience ; Comrade Nolan's narrow escape ; the shattered 
wheel; Comrade Griswold's blanket riddled twenty-five times; Comrade Sloan tells 
of what he saw and heard ; Comrade Dickinson's horse shot under him ; Comrade 
Lewis Sykes and his team of horses; Comrade John C. English and his horse 
Ned; how Comrade Reynolds was wounded; Comrade Crossley tells how he was 
injured that day ; Butler's headquarters at Friend's house 405 

CHAPTER XXn. 

A SUNDAY SKIRMISH. 

Comrade Albro's return to camp ; General Smith makes a reconnoissance ; Beauregard's 
daring plan of campaign ; orders to take the Battery to same place as the day before ; 
Captains Rockwell and Warren protest and appeal to General Terry; the curiosity 
of some artillery officers ; Corporal Huntington ordered to fire ; a sharp artillery 
duel; the officers lost their horses; the plowed field; a bullet went through the 
blanket on which Captain Rockwell was seated ; accurate firing of Corporals Scran- 
ton and Holly ; how the wheel was struck; Comrade Bacon seriously wounded; all 



xii CONTENTS. 

the men at the gun thrown down; Comrade Davidson's gymnastic feats; Comrade 
Cladding's close call; Comrade Griswold describes the awful condition of the 
horses 426 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

BATTLE OF DREWRY's BLUFF. 

Beauregard's resolve to make the battle a decisive one ; Heckman's brigade captured ; the 
dense fog; telegraph wire defence; enemy repulsed three times by Weitzel's 
division ; General Smith and the colored cavalry ; Comrade Sloan tells how the 
officers started for the rear; centre section covers the retreat; while others were 
panic-stricken not one of the Battery left his post; out of ammunition the section 
indulged in pantomimic loading and firing; Comrade Abels and the last shell; 
Comrade Sloan tells of the retreat; Terry's reliance on the Battery; "Stop those 
fellows, Scranton"; Comrade Tallmadge's steady nerve; description of the battle 
by Comrades Sloan, Griswold, Hotchkiss and Beecher ; Butler's report; General 
Grant blames Butler ; " He is in a bottle strongly corked " ; Butler's defence ; losses 
on both sides in the five days' fight 439 




MAP SHOWING LOYAL AND SECEDING STATES. 



Marching through New Haven Frontispiece. 

PAGE. 

Fac-simile of Cannon's Call 

Fac-simile of Original Petition 

Camp Tyler 

Park Barracks 

Embarking on Ellwood Walter 7^ 

Throwing Dead Horses Overboard ?& 

Toad Sticker 78 

Hilton Head ' • • 82 

On Picket, Beaufort 84 

Beaufort Arsenal 88 

"Got any Pies, Auntie?" 89 

Episcopal Church, Beaufort 9^ 

Rhett House, Beaufort 93 

Searching for Buried Treasure 95 

Wearing the Wooden Overcoat 1^9 

A Slave Cabin "6 

The Left vSection at Pocotaligo ^22 

Battle of Secessionville ^56 

Played Out ^71 

On Picket ^77 

The Battery Forge 214 

A Free Contraband going to Market 228 

A Hasty Supper on Picket 235 

A Contraband 247 

Drummer Boys 250 

A Straggler • • • 267 

Swamp Angel 275 

Fort Sumter Before Bombardment 276 

Fort Sumter After Bombardment 277 



xi V ILL USTRA TIONS. 

PAGE 

The Gillmore Medal 291 

Going Into Action 300 

Bill of Lading (facsimile) 304 

Magnolia Cemetery, Charleston 308 

Orderly 309 

Facsimile of Christian Association Minute Book 316 

The Old Mill 321 

A Little Piccaninny 327 

Advancing Scouts 346 

The Supply Train 354 

The Battery at Chester Station 358 

The Right Section in the Lane at Chester Station 360 

Bringing the Centre and Left Sections Into Action at Chester Station 366 

Centre and Left Section Repulsing the Charge at Chester Station 372 

The Half-Way House 396 

Tattoo 402 

A Scout 403 

A Lull in the Fight 414 

Dr. Friend's House, Butler's Headquarters 422 

Played Out 425 

A Cavalry Charge 432 

The Battery's Battered Wheel 436 

Halt of the Line of Battle 446 

Waiting for Something to Turn Up 455 




Map Showing Loyal and Seceding States xii 

Petersburg and Richmond between pages 376 and 377 



^^ "o 



Abels, Oliver K 157 

Albro, John E 258 

Blatchlej-, E. 32 

Bullard. H. B S3 

Bissell, Warren H 86 

Bissell, Charles N 416 

Bliss, George P 17 

Bliss, John F .... 243 

Beecher, Herbert W 282 

Brown, Francis V 36^ 

Clinton, James B 15 

Clark, Arthur E. (as Sergeant) 290 

Clark, Arthur E. (as Lieutenant) 17 

Cannon, John S .13 

Crossley, David 424 

Doolittle, Joseph R. . 141 

Davis, Edgar G 313 

Dickinson, Sylvanus C 17 

Fowler, William M 386 

Fowler, Joseph W 135 

Griswold, Edward 400 

Grow, Henry 80 

Guptil, Jacob T 283 

Gesner, Charles W no 

Gladding, James H. , 437 

Hotchkiss, Charles A 313 

Hall, Marcus M ■ • 373 

Hall, Dwight H 339 

Huntington, Henry M 245 

Hull, John R ig6 

Holbrook, Andrew 301 

Hurlbut, Dr. . , 13 



xvi PORTRAITS. 

PAGE 

Jillson, Charles E 41 

Loomis, John 193 

Landon, Hart 416 

Landon, Hethcote G 320 

Leonard, Alfred E 423 

Lawrence, Henry S 166 

Metcalf, George 13 

McNary, William 287 

Monarch, John 106 

McLean, Lorenzo D 424 

Merwin, John H 239 

Norton, Elias O 415 

Norton, William B 154 

Norton, Jonathan G 285 

Nolan, Andrew 298 

Porter, Seldon T 13 

Rockwell, Alfred P 11 

Reynolds, James H 46 

Seward, William T 13 

Scranton, Samuel W 17 

Scranton, Daniel F 370 

Sloan, John T 170 

Sykes, Lewis 420 

Smith, Hezekiah B 17 

Turner, Andrew H 185 

Tallmadge, Henry H 451 

Upson, Theron 17 

Wakeley, Ebenezer . 368 




INTRODUCTION, 



"Republics furnish the world with a greater number of 
brave and excellent characters than kingdoms." — Macchiavelli. 

"In this world two things only are immortal — Fame 
and a People!" — Richelieu. 

N compiling a history of the First Light Battery of the Connect- 
icut Volunteer Artillery we have two purposes in view. We 
wish to perpetuate the memory of that gallant body of men 
who sacrificed home and health and, in many cases, life because 
their country asked their aid, and, secondly, to show that a re- 
public can always depend on its sons to defend it against external and 
internal enemies. 

Histories of the great War of the Rebellion have been written, chronicles 
of various regiments have been published, the deeds of heroism have been 
sung in deathless poetry and recited in thrilling prose, but in all there 
seems to be an idea that the deeds of gallant daring, the victories which 
won the admiration of the world, the tremendous sacrifices of the war 
should all be credited to the officers. We read of the heroism of some 
general or other officer, but seldom of the deeds of personal courage per- 
formed by the privates, and yet the War of the RebeUion was essentially a war 
of the people; the battles w^ere won, not by the brilliant genius of generals 
so much as by the bravery, the courage, the intelligence of the privates. 



8 INTRODUCTION. 

The War of the Rebellion differed from all preceding wars because the 
men who fought were not professional soldiers, but volunteers, and in many 
cases their officers were volunteers also. 

Each responded to the patriotic call, not for selfish gain or the desire 
to slay their fellow men, but purely because they loved their country, 
honored its flag and wished to see the great republic firmly and per- 
manently established. 

In this history the editor has endeavored to do justice to all, treating 
officers and men as gallant comrades, giving credit where due and extolling 
individual bravery whether in officer or private. 

This work is intended to be more than a record of battles fought; it 
is designed to give a true insight into camp life with all its pathos and 
humor, with personal incidents and episodes which will be treasured by our 
descendants. 

The Battery was made up of men who were ready to make a breastwork 
of their manly bosoms to shield the flag they loved. For country's sake 
they made a sacrifice of property, of home comfort and health, and showed 
that they were willing to seal their love with their blood. 

Among the comrades were found men of culture, men of social position, 
men endeared to the domestic circle, men who placed country first in every- 
thing they did. Without rank, without title, without anticipated distinc- 
tii>n, animated only by the highest and noblest sentiments, these men 
enHsted as privates, ready to bear the labors, the toils and marches, the 
fights, to endure hunger and thirst and fatigue, with weary days and sleep- 
less nights all for the one thing — the liberty of every child born under the 
Stars and Stripes. 

Heroism is not confined to the battlefield. The men who gave up life 
at college, left comfortable homes and good positions to endure the hard- 
ships of camp life were heroes though they never were under fire. 

None but the soldier can know of the heroism required to submit to the 
stern discipline, the conquering of an independent spirit, or the sinking of 
self in the soldier. 

Only those who have experienced it can know the courage which is 
requisite to enable a man to bear the semi-starvation, the disease, the 
imsanitary surroundings of camp life. 



INTRODUCTION. 



To all the comrades, whether they faced the deadly bullets of the enemy 
or uncomplainingly bore the hardships of the camp, we wish to do justice 
and extol their heroism. 

The War of the Rebellion was a glorious war, and the nation will honor 
the names of the great generals as long as history lives, but let us not 
forget that their success was obtained by the private soldiers, at the cost 
of patriot blood, of shattered bones and mangled muscles and blood-stained 
corpses. 

We desire to pay tribute to the good fellowship of the officers and to 
bear witness to the loving work and earnest courage of every member of 
the First Connecticut Light Battery, and to each reader we say — 



"Shout long and loud for vic- 
tory won 
By chief and leader stanch 
and true ; 
But don't forget the boys who 
fought — 
Shout for the common sol- 
dier too." 




The days of calm at length are won, 

And sitting thus, with folded hands 
We talk of great deeds greatly done, 
While all the future seems to run 

A silvery tide o'er golden sands. 

Who bore the flag — who won the day? 

The young proud manhood of the land. 
Called from the forge and plow away, 
They seized the weapons of the fray 

With eager but untutored hand ; 

They swarmed o'er all the roads that led 

To where the peril hottest burned — 
By night, by day, their hurrying tread 
Still southward to the struggle sped, 

Nor ever from their purpose turned. 

Col. Chas. G. Halpine. 




Lieut. Seldon T. Porter. 





Lieut. John S. Cannon. 




Lieut. \Vm. T. Seward. 




Lieut. George Metcalf. 



Dr. G. a. Hurlbut. 






M 
■ 

■ 

M 

M 
■ 
M 
■ 

■ 
M 
M 
■ 

■ 
■ 

■ 

m 
m 
m 
m 
n 
u 
n 
m 
u 
■ 

■ 

■ 

M 

■ 

M 
M 
M 

■ 
■ 

M 
M 
■ 

■ 
M 

M 
M 
■ 
M 
■ 




Capt. James B. Clinton. 



M 
■ 

■ 
M 
H 
H 
■ 
■ 

■ 

■ 
M 
M 
■ 

■ 

■ 
■ 

■ 
M 
■ 

■ 
M 
M 
■ 

■ 

■ 

■ 
M 

■ 

■ 
M 
M 





Lieut. Hezekiah B. Smith. 



Lieut. Theron Upson. 




Lieut. Samuel W. Scranton. 








Lieut. George p. Bliss. 




Lieut. S. C. Dickinson. 



LiEur. A. E. Clark. 



[PHOTOGRAPHIC FACSIMILE OF ORIGINAL CALL.] 

" WE H^AIVT ]?IORE BATTERIES."-I*IcCIellan. 



New Ha^y^n, October- 1861. 

Dear Sir: 

A call having been made on this State for a BATTERY OF LIGHT 
ARTILLERY, and Gov. Buckingham having authorized the raising of the same this 
communication is sent to secure your active co-operation in recruiting such a Company of 
Artillerymen as shall be an honor to Connecticut. 

It will be the only Battery in the field from this State, and will comprise 

SIX PIECES OF BRASS RIFLED ORDINANCE. 

to be commanded by the most experienced artillerist that can be obtained, and before 
leaving for the seat of war will receive a complete outfit. 

Men are wanted who will enter into the service with a will to sustain our Government, 
and this appeal is made to you to do what you can to further the cause. If you cannot go, 
get some one to go in your place. 

TERMS OF ENLISTMENT. 

United States pay, per month, SI 3.00 

Bounty from State of Connecticut, per year, - - 30.00 

Bounty to Soldier's wife, per month, - - . . g.oo 

Bounty to wife and child, per month, - - 8.00 

Bounty to wife and two children, per month, - - 10.00 

Making the pay of Privates who enlist in Connecticut Companies, range from $15.50 to 
$25.50, according to size of family. In addition, $100 Bounty from the United States 
when honorably discharged. 

The Recruiting Office is open to all. 

JOHN S, CANNON, 

865 Chapel Street, [Late Journal and Courier Office.) 



[the original petition ] 



Q/0 %^Cu WxccvCe-i 




Q9^. Q^ucKin-aAa 



a,rrv. 

SPir: 

flV'e, the &uk&£rih£]f'8., aliLe-Ladled dtbiens., lietuieeri tfie aqes of elqkteeii and 

pitii^-fuie treats., i^esidina^ iti the tojuri ap - - 

in &aicL S'tate, he&ftedfidh^ ftetiiian. yxui/- ^Xjcellency. ta oj^ani^ us. uita a ^amfuuij^ of 

ta La anncjicd ta the Slec^i/nent /^anjiectlcul 

fVaLinleeM, faf- S£f-ulc£ in the ^edeHil ^awoTLnbent , fo.if- tlu^e jj.eaj^, c/' /a/' the moj^ : and 
hei^kiL fdedae aiiMjehLea., if &a oj^^ajii^ed, ta alueij. all lajii&, iHdes and i^eeydatlans. pxi"- the 
Quae/nmenf of the ^nu^ af. the flLa'ded 0'ta±c&, uihlck a&e at- maif Lc eslaliLished. 

^atedal - tliis. dai^ af iS'b 

ORIGINAL MEMBERS. 



DATE, 

1861. 



Oct. 3 
Oct. 3 
Oct. 3 
Oct. 6 
Oct. 5 
Oct. 7 
Oct. 14 
Oct. S 
Oct. S 
Oct. 12 
Oct. 20 
Oct. 15 
Oct. 7 
Oct. 20 
Nov. 3 
Oct. 8 
Nov. 15 
Oct. 17 
Oct. 5 
Nov. 9 
Nov. 6 
Oct. 14 
Oct. 26 
Oct. 7 
Oct. 6 
Nov. 22 
Oct. 5 
Oct. 5 
Oct. 5 
Oct. 25 
Oct. 14 
Oct. ID 
Nov. 7 
Nov. 20 
Oct. 23 
Oct. 1=; 



NAME IN FULL. 



Jr. 



Selden T. Porter 
JohnS. Cannon 
Geo. Metcalf . 
Wm. T.Seward 
Geo. P. Bliss . 
Chas. E. Jillson 
Hezekiah B. Smith 
James B. Clinton 
Horatio W. Evarts . 
Reuben Spencer. . . 
Sylvanus C. Dickinson 
Henry Grow . . 
Elijah C. Tuttle. . . 
John H. Merwin . . . 
Thomas M. Lord . . 
Hethcote G. Landon . 
Wm. L. Graham . . . 
Alexander W. Welton 
John F. Bliss .... 
Henry M. Huntington 
Edward F. Phelps. . 
William D. Shepard . 
Henry Rich . . 

Warren H. Bissell . . 
Chas. A. Hotchkiss . 
George S. Bissell. . . 
Harvey N. Johnson . 
Wm. H. Hanna . . . 
James J. Taylor. . . 
Leeds Brown .... 
John R. Hull .... 
John E. Albro .... 
Oliver K. Abels . . . 
Henry S. Allen . . . 
Eugene At water . . . 
Curtis Bacon .... 



RESIDENCE. 



Andover .... 
New Haven . . 
Hartford . . . 
Guilford .... 
Hebron .... 
Hartford . . . 
New London . . 
New Haven . . 
Guilford . . . 
Farmingtoa. 

Mil ford 

Meriden .... 
New Haven . . 

Milford 

New Haven . . 
Guilford .... 

Milford 

Cheshire . . 
Hebron .... 
Milford .... 
East Windsor. . 
New London . . 
Meriden .... 

Hebron 

New Haven . . 

Vernon 

Hebron .... 
Hebron .... 
Hebron .... 
East Granby . . 
Bridgeport . . . 
Warehouse Point 
Warehouse Point. 
New Haven. . . 
Plymouth . . . 
Simsbury . . . 



34 
26 

35 
29 
30 
21 
21 
28 
21 
34 
25 
23 
39 
20 
36 
23 
43 
22 
22 
29 
29 
25 
33 
25 
31 
38 
26 
26 
22 

49 
3T 

38 
25 
30 
'9 
22 



married 
or single. 



Married 

Married 

Married 

Single 

Single 

Single 

Married 

Single 

Single 

Married 

Single 

Single 

Single 

Single 

Single 

Married 

Married 

Single 

Single 

Single 

Married 

Single 

Married 

Married 

Single 

Married 

Married 

Single 

Single 

Married 

Married 

Married 

Married 

Single 

Single 

Single 



occupation. 



Paper Mfg. 

Merchant 

Manufacturer 

Merchant 

Mechanic 

Soldier 

Boat Builder 

Clerk 

Soldier 

Mechanic 

Clerk 

Soldier 

Policeman 

Clerk 

Mechanic 

Farmer 

Millwright 

Mechanic 

Mechanic 

Mechanic 

Clerk 

Machinist 

Mechanic 

Mechanic 

Farmer 

Blacksmith 

Mechanic 

Mechanic 

Mechanic 

Mechanic 

Mechanic 

Teamster 

Teamster 

Teamster 

Mechanic 

Farmer 



DATE, 
1861. 

Oct. 13 
Nov. 30 
Dec. 3 
Nov. 2g , 
Oct. 7 
Oct. 9 
Oct. 17 
Nov. 21 
Oct. 18 
Nov. 17 , 
Nov. 28 , 
Oct. 25 
Nov. 7 
Oct. 16 
Nov. 6 
Oct. 20 
Oct. 15 
Oct. 23 
Oct. 26 
Oct. 9 
Dec. I 
Oct. 18 
Oct. 18 
Nov. 6 
Nov. 25 
Oct. 25 
Nov. 25 
Oct. 15 
Oct. 9 
Oct. 9 
Oct. 9 
Oct. 20 
Nov. 14 
Nov. 7 
Oct. 26 
Oct. 5 
Nov. 12 
Oct. 12 
Nov. 20 
Oct. 9 
Nov. 21 
Nov. 7 
Nov. 7 
Nov. 9 
Nov. 22 
Oct. 5 
Oct. 5 
Dec. 2 
Oct. 8 
Nov. 6 
Nov. 18 
Nov. 18 
Oct. 8 
Oct. 23 
Oct. 21 
Dec. 2 
Oct. 13 
Oct. 26 
Oct. 9 



NAME IN FULL. 

Morrison Bacon . . 
Edwin S. Bailey . . 
Samuel Barnes 
Herbert W. Beecher 
Chas. N. Bissell . . 
Alfred G. Bishop . 
Edwin O. Blatchley 
Gilbert W. Blake. . 
Ralph Blodgett . . 
Loren Bradford . . 
Bradley Barlow . . 
Francis V. Brown . 
William Brown. . . 
Henry B. Bullard . 
John Chapman. . . 
Arthur E. Clark . 
Charles Coss . . . 
David Crossley. . . 
Edgar G. Davis . . 
Geo W. Durgin . . 
Amassa L. Doolittle 
Horace A. Doolittle 
Joseph R. Doolittle. 
Alexander Doran. 
Geo. Duft" .... 
Hobart M. Dolph. 
Chas. N. Ellis . . 
John C. English . 
Edward G. Evarts 
Chas. E. Evarts . 
James Farrell . . 
Wm. M. Fowler . 
Lewis L. Fuller . 
Chas. W. Gesner 
James H. Gladding. 
George Gillette . 
Nathan Gillette . 
Geo. A. Goodale . 
Edwin Gridley . 
Edward Griswold 
Jacob T. Guptil . 
Dwight H. Hall . 
Marcus M. Hall. 
Titus A. Hall . . 
James Hayes. . . 
George Hanna . . 
Andrew J. Hanks 
Andrew Holbrook 
John A. Holmes . 
James Holly . . . 
Henry Holman. . 
Joseph H. Hull . 
Samuel H. Hull . 
George R. Ingram 
Wm. B. Ives . . 
Francis E. Johnson 
Luman C. Jerome. . 
Hart Landon . . . 
Henry S. Lawrence 



RESIDENCE. 

Simsbury . . 

Hebron . . . 

Cheshire . . . 

New Haven . 

Hebron . . . 

Guilford . . . 

Guilford . . . 
North Madison. 
East Windsor 

Hebron . . . 

New Haven . 

East Granby . 

Hebron . . . 

Guilford . . . 

Meriden . . . 

Milford. . . . 

Hartford . . . 

Simsbury . . . 

Guilford . . . 

Guilford . . . 
Cheshire . . 

Cheshire . . . 

Cheshire . . . 

Bridgeport . . 

Andover . . . 

Cheshire . . . 

New Haven . 

Guilford . . . 

Guilford . . . 

Enfield . . . 

Milford . . . 

Hartford . . . 

New Haven . 

Wethersfield . 

Hebron . . . 

Hebron . . . 

Hebron . . . 
Derby . . . 

Guilford . . . 

Meriden . . . 

Guilford. . . 

Guilford. . . 

Guilford. . . 

Granby . . . 

Hebron . . . 

Hebron . . . 

Seymour . . . 

Hebron . . . 
Windsor Locks 

Winsted. . . 

Prospect . . . 

Guilford . . . 
Vernon .... 

Branford . . . 
Bristol .... 

Guilford . . . 
Meriden . . . 



^GE. 


MARRIED 
OR SINGLE. 


OCCUPATION. 


24 


Single 


Farmer 


^•^ 


Married 


Farmer 


23 


Single 


Farmer 


21 


Single 


Clerk 


18 


Single 


Farmer 


IQ 


Single 


Farmer 


.30 


Single 


Seaman 


IQ 


Single 


Farmer 


20 


Single 


Farmer 


30 


Married 


Farmer 


36 




Blacksmith 


20 


Single 


Millwright 


28 


Married 


Farmer 


26 


Single 


Farmer 


21 


Single 


Clerk 


22 


Single 


School Teacher 


38 


Married 


Painter 


23 


Single 


Mechanic 


27 


Single 


Farmer 


40 


Married 


Farmer 


28 


Single 


Mechanic 


23 


Married 


Mechanic 


iq 


Single 


Mechanic 


18 


Single 


Mechanic 


18 


Single 


Farmer 


2^^ 


Single 


Mechanic 


20 


Single 




18 


Single 


Clerk 


iq 


Single 


Farmer 


22 




Farmer 


28 


Married 




iq 


Single 


Clerk 


3S 


Married 


Boat Maker 


18 


Single 


Baker 


37 


Married 




24 


Single 


Farmer 


3q 


Married 


Farmer 


24 


Married 


Farmer 


40 


Single 


Mechanic 


22 


Single 


Farmer 


27 


Married 


Farmer 


23 


Single 


Farmer 


2^ 


Single 


Painter 


18 


Single 


Butcher 


44 


Married 


Farmer 


30 


Married 


Farmer 


20 


Single 


Clerk 


2=; 


Single 


Farmer 


18 


Single 


Farmer 


iq 


Single 


Teamster 


21 


Single 


Mechanic 


3"; 


Married 


Farmer 


21 


Single 


Farmer 


2S 


Single 


Farmer 


31 


Married 


Joiner 


2S 


Single 


Mechanic 


34 




Horse Doctor 


iq 


Single 


Mechanic 


25 


Married 


Mechanic 



DATE, 
1861. 

Oct. 5 

Nov. 26 
Oct. 23 
Oct. 23 
Nov. 19 
Oct. 5 
Nov. 30 
Oct. 21 
Oct. 10 
Dec. 2 
Oct. q 
Nov. 3 
Oct. 22 
Nov. 3 
Oct. 9 , 
Nov. 20 
Oct. 9 . 
Nov. 6 . 
Oct. 7 . 
Nov. 22 , 
Dec. 2 
Oct. iS . 
Nov. 5 . 
Oct. 

Oct. 16 . 
Oct. 7 . 
Oct. 15 . 
Oct. m . 
Oct. 15 . 
Nov. 6 . 
Dec. 6 . 
Oct. 27 . 
Oct. 5 . 
Oct. 19 . 
Nov. 1 5 . 
Oct. 23 . 
Oct. 27 . 
Oct. 7 . 
Nov. 28 . 
Nov. 7 . 
Nov. 17 . 
Oct. 3 . 
Oct. 25 . 
Oct. 31 . 
Oct. 5 . 
Nov. 4 . 
Nov. 3 . 
Nov. 10 . 
Oct. 27 . 
Nov. 8 . 
Oct. 29 . 
Oct. 5 . 
Oct. 20 . 
Oct. 31 . 
Nov. 21 . 
Nov. 25 . 
Oct. 3 . 
Nov. 16 . 
Dec. 2 



NAME IN FULL. 



Alfred E. Leonard. 
Chas. W. Lane . . 
Wm. G. McNary. . 
William McNary . 
John Miller .... 
Alfred A. Minor . 
Chas. J. Minor. , . 
John Monarch. . . 
John J. Moy . . . 
Andrew Nolan. . . 
Edward P. Norton . 
Elias O. Norton . . 
Jonathan G. Norton 
Stephen H. Norton. 
Wm. B. Norton . . 
Emerjr Norwood . 
Leroy B. Pease . . 
Moses Phelps . . . 
Henry E. Peck. . . 
Fredericlv A. Pettibone 
Geo. W. Penhallow 
Geo. F. Remington . 
James H. Reynolds 
Edwin B. Reynolds 
Chas. Richardson . 
Luther G. Riggs. . 
Jonathan Riggs . . 
Edward M. B. Roberts 
Norman A. Sackett 
Daniel F. Scranton 
Jonathan Savory. . 
Samuel W. Scranton 
John Shaw .... 
Patrick Shields . . 

John Shine 

Harvey D. Skinner 
John T. Sloan ... 
Henry P. Smith . . 
Lyman Southwick . 
Geo. H. Starr . . 
Samuel N Stevens 
Chas. A. Sykes . . 
Lewis Sykes. . . . 
Henry H. Spencer, 
Alonzo Taylor . . . 
Henry H. Tallmadge 
James H. Thompson 
Francis H. Thompso 
Andrew H. Turner 
Hezekiah Tuttle. . 
Lyman N. Tuttle . 
Theron Upson. . . 
Geo. Van Horn . . 
Ebenezer Wakeley . 
Welcome E. Watson. 
Levi. J. Warner . . 
James H. Wells . . 
Hiram Wentworth. 
John Loomis. . . . 



RESIDENCE. 



Hebron, . . . 
North Madison 
Manchester . 
Manchester . 
Falls Village 
Hebron . . 
Hebron . . 
Manchester 
North Guilford 
Milford 
Guilford 
Guilford 
Guilford 
Guilford 
Guilford 



Hartford . 
East Long Meado 
New Haven 
Granby . . 
New London 
Guilford . . 
Menden . . 
Columbia. . 
Bolton . . . 
Bridgeport . 
Bridgeport . 
East Hartford 
Bloomfield . 
Guilford . . 
East Windsor 
Fair Haven 
Hebron . 
Meriden . 
Milford . . 
East Hartford 
Fair Haven 
New Haven 
Cromwell . 
Guilford . . 
Hebron . . 
Hatfield, Mass 
Hatfield, Mass 
Bolton .... 
Hebron . . . 



Hebron . . 
Hebron . 
Fair Haven 
Guilford . . 
New Haven 
New Haven 
Milford . . 
Bridgeport . 
Plainfield . 
East Long Meado 
Windsor Locks 
New Milford . 
Hebron . . . 



19 
20 

23 
44 
22 

19 
23 
21 

28 

23 
26 
18 
26 

21 
20 

25 
19 
24 
22 
22 
32 
24 
25 
32 
29 
24 

44 
21 

35 
28 

43 
25 
23 
21 

35 
22 
18 
21 

23 

18 

25 
22 

25 
23 
20 
24 
41 
19 
26 

33 
38 
26 
20 

18 

23 
20 

18 
35 
24 



MARRIED 
OR SINGLE 



OCCUPATION. 



Single 

Single 

Married 

Married 

Married 

Single 

Married 

Single 

Single 

Single 

Married 

Single 

Married 

Single 

Single 

Single 

Single 

Single 

Single 

Married 

Married 

Married 

Married 

Married 

Married 

Single 

Married 

Single 

Married 

Single 

Single 

Single 

Married 

Single 

Single 

Married 

Married 

Single 

Married 

Single 

Single 

Married 

Single 

Single 

Married 

Single 

Single 

Married 

Married 

Single 

Single 

Single 

Single 

Single 

Single 

Single 

Single 



Farmer 

Farmer 

Mechanic 

Mechanic 

Hostler 

Farmer 

Farmer 

Mechanic 

Farmer 

Mechanic 

Farmer 

Farmer 

Farmer 

Farmer 

Printer 

Teamster 

Clerk 

Joiner 

Seaman 

Farmer 

Mechanic 

Farmer 

Mechanic 

Printer 

Painter 

Clerk 

Teacher 

Mechanic 

Joiner 

Mechanic 

Wagon Maker 

Farmer 

Mechanic 

Farmer 

Teacher 

Seaman 

Farmer 

Clerk 

Farmer 

Farmer 

Farmer 

Farmer 



Machinist 

Machinist 

Mechanic 

Mechanic 

Mechanic 

Druggist 

Soldier 

Clerk 

Sailor 

Mechanic 

Farmer 

Mechanic 




nion ought to be considered as 
the main prop of your liberty, and the 
love of the one ought to endear you 
to the preservation of the other. The 
Union is the main pillar in the edifice 

r~\ W''^M '^1^ \\\ ^^ ^'*^^^^ ^^^^ independence — the sup- 

^Vji^ I, If, ;3^v\^ port of your tranquillity at home, your 

peace abroad, of your safety, of your 

prosperity, of that very liberty which 

you so highly prize." 

In these prophetic words did George Washington bid farewell to the 

Congress of the nation he had helped to found. Sixty-four years later a 

convention assembled at Charleston, S. C, and after three days' deliberation 

passed a resolution that the imion between South Carolina and the 

other States be dissolved. A month later Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, 

Georgia, Louisiana and Texas had passed similar resolutions, and on the 4th 

day of February, 1861, delegates from six of the seceded States assembled at 

Montgomery, Ala., and formed a new government under the name of the 

Confederate States of America. 

The President of the United States, James Buchanan, believed with 
Washington that the Union should be maintained, but he held the 
opinion that the Constitution did not give him any constitutional power to 



24 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

prevent secession by force. His successor, Abraham Lincoln, had been 
elected, but not inaugurated, and the secessionists took advantage of 
Buchanan's weakness to attempt the dissolution of the Union. 

The country seemed on the verge of ruin. The national Government 
was paralyzed. The army was stationed on remote frontiers, the small navy 
sailed on distant seas. 

Everything seemed to favor the secessionists when Lincoln was inaugu- 
rated. In a thoughtful, calm address the new President, 

" Who had been born a destined work to do,'' 

declared his fixed purpose to uphold the Constitution, enforce the laws, and 
preserve the integrity of the Union. He announced that he should 
repossess the forts, arsenals and public property which had been seized by 
the Confederate authorities. That was the signal for war. Fort Sumter 
was fired on, and after thirty-four hours' bombardment the garrison was 
forced to capitulate and Major Anderson surrendered Charleston Harbor to 
Gen. P. T. Beauregard. 

The news of this startling event set the country on fire. No one 
believed that the South would use violence. Civil war had seemed but a 
memory of ancient history not to be thought of in modern times. The 
country became consolidated into two great sectional parties. Unionists and 
Secessionists — North and South — Federals and Confederates. 

The President called for 75,000 volunteers to serve for three months in 
the overthrow of the secession movement. 

Critics thought the number excessive; others laughed at the three 
months and declared that a month would see the rebellious States suppli- 
cating for mercy, but it was soon shown that a spirit had been raised in the 
South which would cause the shedding of rivers of blood before it was 
subdued. 

The South laughed at the call, and Le Roy Pope Walker, Jefferson 
Davis' Secretary of War, prophesied that the Confederate flag " that now 
flaunts the breeze here will float over the dome of the old Capitol at 
Washington before the ist of May. Let them try Southern chivalry," he 
said, "and test the extent of Southern resources, and it may float eventually 
over Faneuil Hall in Boston." 

The Confederates had able leaders, men who, through a false idea that 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1S61—1865 25 

allegiance to the State was more binding than allegiance to the Nation, gave 
the South a vast superiority at first over the North. In the ranks of 
the Secessionists were brilliant generals and well trained soldiers. Norfolk 
Navy Yard was seized, the Armory of the U. S., at Harper's Ferry, 
captured, and Virginia was filled with trained soldiers and volunteers in such 
numbers that the Federal City of Washington was in danger. The first call 
for volunteers was made by Lincoln on April 14, 1861, and on May 3 he 
issued another call for soldiers. This time it was set at 83,000, and 
the term of service at three years or during the war. 

Europe sneered at the call, predicting all sorts of disaster for the United 
States, men who had long secretly hated our country because they 
were opposed to the recognition of the Rights of man as a basis of govern- 
ment now openly pointed to the feebleness of a Republic, and when 
the third call was made for 300,000 more, the laughter was long and loud. 

Europe had built up its power on force, and maintained it by large 
standing armies. " War," said a great statesman, "can only be successfully 
prosecuted when the army is well seasoned and the raw recruits who have 
responded to President Lincoln's call will only hasten the downfall of 
the Republic by their inefficiency on the field." 

The experiment was to be tried of a war without trained men, a war by 
citizen soldiers who left the desk, the farm and the workshop in answer to 
their country's call. 

The people realized that the Confederacy was not to be so easily 
subdued. Patriotic blood was stirred. Men walked the streets with serious 
and determined faces. The good citizens of Connecticut, hardy, earnest and 
patriotic, heard the call and at once offered themselves to the Governor, 
ready, willing and anxious to go to the front in defence of liberty 
and liberty's flag. 

There had been a seething though suppressed antagonism between 
New England and the South from the very earliest history of New England. 
Two hundred years ago almost at the same time two vessels set sail for this 
country, the one landed a band of pilgrims on New England's rock bound 
coast, the other went up the James River and landed at Jamestown the first 
slaves. There is no doubt that whatever may have been the thought 
and intention of the politicians at the commencement of the war, the people 



26 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

of New England believed that it was to be a war of freedom 7's. slavery. 

Some of Connecticut's sons could not wait for the Governor's call but 
hastened to offer themselves, some waited until they could choose the branch 
of the service for which they felt best adapted. 

On September 20, 1861, Governor Buckingham issued a call for Con- 
necticut's quota of the 300,000 men who from all parts of the North were 
ready, in response to that call, to join with heart in the song, "We are 
coming, Father Abraham, 300,000 strong !" The Governor decided to send 
to the front as a portion of the State's quota a fully equipped Light Batter}'. 
The announcement was received with enthusiasm, and within a few days the 
Governor had appointed Seldon T. Porter, of Hebron; John S. Cannon, of 
New Haven; George I. Metcalf, of Hartford, and William T. Seward, of 
Guilford, as Lieutenants to recruit said Battery, which was to consist of 156 
enlisted men and officers and six guns. 

" I propose to make this Light Battery as good as any in the service," 
said the Governor to W. T. Seward, "I have the promise of a West Pointer 
for Captain, and shall reserve the right to appoint the First Lieutenant, the 
Junior First and both Second Lieutenants shall be elected by the enlisted 
men when the quota is filled." 

The Battery was composed of men recruited from all parts of the State, 
and it has often been said that no better men ever formed a company for 
military service. 

William T. vSeward had been a member of the New Haven Blues, of the 
State Militia, but when the war broke out he was in business, in the South, 
with his father. He had only just escaped, with his aged father, from the 
Confederates, when the Governor of Connecticut issued his call for a Light 
Battery. Seward within a few minutes had, after reading the call, joined 
hands with Edward Griswold and offered to recruit in Guilford for the 
Battery. Guilford proved its patriotism by sending 36 enlisted inen to join 
the Battery. John S. Cannon was equally energetic in New Haven isstnng 
a printed call for men, and by tongue and pen rousing the enthusiasm of the 
citizens. Porter, of Hebron, and Metcalf, of Hartford, were just as patriotic 
and earnest, and in a few days the battery was ready to go to the State Camp. 

It was an impressive sight when the Guilford contingent left. The 
whole population turned out to see them off. A drum corps, consisting of 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 27 

Majors Augustus P. Hall, John Griswold and Amos Griswold acted as 
escort, and as the contingent marched out of the Music Hall, one hundred of 
the "Fathers of Guilford," (old militiamen) were drawn up in line to join 
in the march. These veterans were under command of Col. John Burgess 
and Lieut. Col. Henry W. Chittenden, and the companies were commanded 
by Capts. Joel Griswold, Richard Fowler, Jonathan Bishop and George 
Bartlett. Grand old men were those " Fathers of Guilford " ! They repre- 
sented a century of patriotism. Closely allied to the veterans of the revo- 
lution, of the war of 1812, and the Mexican war, they again testified their 
devotion to their country by encouraging their sons and grandsons. Too old 
to volunteer, they could bid the younger ones do their duty, and though they 
kept a brave face as their sons and grandsons marched to the war, it could 
be seen that they inwardly realized that the parting with some would be un- 
til the Archangel's trump shall sound. 

Some of the younger element did not feel as patriotic. They did not 
want their sons to go. " There are plenty to go without_you," they said in 
their selfishness. Do not let us blame them, for what pang can fill the heart 
with more misery than the parting of a mother from her son? How she must 
grieve over the thought of the dangers to which he would be exposed. 
The hardships of camp life, the possible starvation, the exposure to storms; 
the terrible life-destroying bullets, the bursting of the shells, the shrieks of 
the wounded, the awful death which would be the lot of many, all must pass 
before the parent's mind at that moment of parting. 

One young Guilford man thought it his duty to enlist — in fact he heard 
the girls say that they would never speak to a boy who was afraid to go to 
the front — so he put down his name. His minister had told him it was 
his duty, but his father and mother urged him to stay at home. Enthusiasm 
won, and he marched with the boys to the camp. His parents cried; they 
knew he would never return ; their lack of Spartan courage was demoraliz- 
ing the crowd, every one of which had some relative in the army, either at 
the front, in camp or on the way to camp. A sturdy veteran, with not 
a tear in his eye, walked up to the agonized parents and exclaimed : 

" For God's sake, dont send the boys away from us like that." 

There was a loud cheer for the man, for they knew that all his sons had 
left him to go and fight. 



28 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

In speaking of that march to the depot, Edward Griswold, thirty years 
after, wrote: "We can never forget those old patriots, their erect forms, 
firm step and patriotic spirit. How they marched, how we felt, the road 
lined with people, the flags waving, the * God bless you ' of the ladies ; 
the way we were sent off made us feel that we could have whipped the 
whole rebel army that morning. We wondered if we were dreaming, if 
we were really going to war and to participate in such scenes of war as 
had been told us around the fireside by our patriotic grandsires. " And 
every man felt the same as did comrade Griswold. 

The story of Guilford's send off could be repeated of each town which 
sent a contingent, for patriotism was at fever heat, and everyone was 
proud of the brave boys, who left home and all its pleasures to endure 
the hardships and horrors of a sanguinary war. 

When the battery was ready to go to camp it was a credit to the 
State. Lawyers, merchants, college students, clerks, mechanics and 
laborers met together as comrades, each actuated by but one impulse, 
love of country, each pledged to stand together as comrades : 

"Till Freedom's Flag, wherever waved, 
Shall shadow not a man enslaved ! 
From Northern lake to Southern strand ! 
Till friend and foe, at the command, 
Once more shall clasp each other's hand, 
And shout, one voiced, 'God save the land!' 
And love the land that God hath saved !" 






I 



CHAPTER II. 



CAMP TYLER. 



T 



"God of the Free ! Upon Thy breath 

Our Flag is for the Right unrolled 
As broad and brave as when its Stars 

First lit the hallowed time of old. 

" For Duty still its folds shall fly, 

For Honor still its glories burn, 
Where Truth, Religion, Valor, guard 

The patriot's sword and martyr's urn." 

ON the 1 8th of October, 1861, a sufficient number of men 
having been enrolled, orders were issued for them to go 
into camp at Hanover village, in the town of Meriden. 
The camp was delightfully situated on a large open 
space in the bend of the river, the hills in the background 
adding beauty to the scene. No spot could have been 
better adapted for transforming citizens, who had been accustomed to all 
the freedom of civilian life, into soldiers who must obey the word of com- 
mand and become like so many parts of one great machine, operated by one 
mind and will. 

The first thing a recruit has to learn is an unquestioning obedience, and 
for a sovereign citizen accustomed to act as his own inclination suggested it 
was a very hard lesson to acquire. Many a time the recruit felt that the order 
was wrong, or that he knew better than the officer, "clothed in a little brief 
authority," but it was his duty to act as ordered, without demur, or question: 

"Theirs not to make reply, 
Theirs not to reason why, 
Theirs but to do and die." 



32 



HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 



Our people knew very little about soldiering when the war broke out 
and the task of creating a vast army began. What a change it was from the 
life the men had been living before enlisting! At home, locks and bolts kept 
away intruders; in camp, the only locks were pieces of string which anyone 
could untie. At home, the tightly closed windows and doors kept out the 
rain, and snow and wind, while a good fire in the stoves prevented the cold 
from striking into the bones; in camp, the rain wetted the men to the skin, 
and in their wet clothes they had to stay until they were dry; the wind 
whistled through the tents, making the stoutest shiver ; the snow drifted under 
the canvas and found its way to the bundle of straw which Uncle Sam 
provided as a bed for his defenders. 

The order went from the Adjutant-General to Seward and Cannon and 
Porter and Metcalf, "Proceed to Hanover and report to Major Boardman of 
the Cavalry." 

There was joy among the men as they marched, out of step it is true, 
through the streets of New Haven and Hartford and Guilford and Hebron, 
amid the enthusiasm of the people, cheered by the waving of handkerchiefs 
and hats, the cheers of the men and the " God bless you " of the women. 

Not a man thought of the dangers to be encountered, of the privations 
to be endured, each was filled with a holy desire to fight for his country and 
his country's flag. Each man had an irrepressible spirit which nothing 

could daunt. Many a story has been told by the 
comrades about that intensity of patriotic feeling. 
The Guilford comrades love to tell of the way in 
which Brother Edwin O. Blatchley refused to 
stay at home though gently repulsed. Good- 
hearted, worthy comrade as he proved himself, 
yet it was only by his indomitable perseverance 
that he was mustered in the Battery. 

When it was known that W. T. Seward was 
recruiting for the Battery Blatchley was the very 
first to apply, but he was somewhat imder the 
influence of that insinuating enemy which has 
brought some of the bravest of men to their knees. 
Lieut. Seward liked "Sod," as the boys called him, but he did not want 




EDWIN O. BLATCHLEY, 

of Guilford. 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861-1865 33 

to take an advantage of his condition, so advised him to wait until later. 
Thirty-six years afterwards Major Seward recalls his experience with 
Blatchley and tells the story as follows : 

"When about half way to the depot at Guilford, on our way to the 
camp, my first applicant, Edwin O. Blatchley, known as ' Sod ' Blatchley, 
still a trifle under alcoholic influence, linked his hand on my arm and said: 

" ' Billy, I'm going with you.' 

" He was very anxious to sign the roll, but I told him that I could not 
allow him to do so, he could go along with us, but his chance of being 
mustered into the United States Volunteer Army depended entirely on his 
conduct. I shall never forget the look he gave me. 

" ' That's all right, Billy,' he said, ' I'm no slouch. I'll be all right' 

"When we reached Branford 'Sod' left the cars, ran across the street 
to a gin-mill, procured a bottle of spirit and got back to his seat before the 
cars started. He was very quiet and looked as innocent as a baby until the 
train was going at a pretty lively speed, then he drew the bottle from under 
his coat, took a drink and generously tried to pass it round. I intercepted it 
and flung the bottle and contents out of the window. ' Sod ' was furious, 
but only for a minute. He knew that I had done right and as he sank back 
in his seat he muttered, ' Good fellow, Billy. I'll be all right.' He settled 
down and was soon fast asleep. 

"When the train reached New Haven he was still asleep. 'All out! ' 
shouted the brakeman, ' Change for Meriden!' Blatchley did not hear and 
no one thought to wake him. The train was backed into the carhouse and 
the men went through to clean the cars. There was 'Sod,' fast asleep. 
The cleaners shook him. He opened his eyes and asked what was the 
matter. He saw the men, greasy, grimy and dirty, and his half-unconscious 
brain was unable to grasp the situation. He fancied he was captured by 
the Secessionists and he rose to his feet inclined to show fight. Then 
he was told that he was in New Haven. 

"Gradually the truth dawned upon his clouded faculties. He was 
repentant. 

" ' I want to go to Meriden. Where are the Guilford boys ?' 

"'Gone.' 



34 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

" ' You don't mean it; they would never have left me like this.' 

" 'It is true.' 

" For a minute he was mad, but only for that brief space of time. 
He gave a shout for Old Glory and got out of the car thoroughly sobered and 
ashamed of himself. Did his resolve weaken ? Did he inquire what time 
the next train went back to Guilford ? No, Blatchley was made of 
heroic stuff, and, like a true soldier and man, he made the best of the 
situation. He had no money to spare, so he took to the track and footed it 
every bit of the way to the camp, arriving there sometime during the night, 
reporting to me in the morning, smiling, jovial and repentant. 

" ' I was a fool, but you couldn't get rid of me, Billy,' was all he said." 

In good order the Guilford and New Haven men arrived at the 
camp and sought for Major Boardman, but he had not arrived. No one 
knew exactly what to do, but Quartermaster Allen, of the Governor's Staff, 
was there and he acted as Commissary for the time. 

Tents were given out and the majority looked at them with wondering 
eyes, for they could have solved a difficult mathematical problem as easily 
as the}' could have erected those tents. 

While they were wondering how to proceed they saw a tent gradually 
assuming shape on one side of the camp ground. A piece of canvas cannot 
make itself into a habitable tent without human assistance, so the matter was 
investigated, and it was found that some of the recruits had served as three 
months' men under the first call and therefore understood how to go to work. 

A little instruction was given, and then all set to work with such enthu- 
siasm that not a man thought anything about eating. As Lieut, Can- 
non said at a re-union: "The first day at Camp Tyler was a very important 
day with me. We had our tents to pitch and the ground to lay out, all the 
rations to draw and the materials in the commissary stores to put away. It 
was a very busy day and it was six o'clock at night before I happened to 
think that I had not had any dinner. I had forgotten all about eating in the 
excitement. Each man had been furnished with a bed tick and was 
expected to go to a farmer's barn and fill it with straw," 

While the men were busy pitching the tents the sound of fifes tooting 
and bass drums beating and the tramp of many feet roused the enthusiasm 
of the workers. There is something inspiring in martial music. 



FIRST LIGHT INFANTRY, 1861—1865 35 

A few minutes later Lieut. Porter with a squad of recruits was seen 
entering- the camp ground. His squad was headed by a drum and fife corps, 
and Lieut. Porter marched his men round the camp to the music of his 
small band. The drum did not seem loud enough among those hills, so he 
kept shouting to the drummer: 

" Pound her! Pound her! " 

The Lieutenant wanted the noise to be as great as his patriotic fervor. 

Lieuts. Cannon and Seward reported to Lieut. Porter how many 
men they had and how they had obtained their supplies. He quickly 
followed their example, and his men were furnished with adequate supplies. 

The Governor had placed Lieut. Porter in command, and so next 
morning he assumed control. Instead of giving a military order in a mili- 
tary fashion, he shouted in a loud voice, as he marched round the camp in 
a pair of long boots: 

"Turn out ! Turn out ! Last time around ! Last time around ! " 

Each time he marched round it was the same, each time was announced 
as the "last time around." The order was obeyed, but not in accordance 
with the rules of a military camp, for the men turned out just as they were 
in a go-as-you-please style. 

Lieut. Porter was not alone in his unmilitary orders, for all over 
the country, in the patriotic North and in the Secessionist South, men who 
had never drawn a sword or shouldered a musket were elected or appointed 
officers, and good soldiers most proved themselves to be. There is a story 
told, and well authenticated, of an Arkansas Cavalry Colonel, who, up to the 
close of the war, used this order for mounting his men: 

"First — ' Prepare fer tur git onto yer creeters! ' 

' ' Second order — ' Git ! ' " 

Though such orders were not found in any manual, the Colonel's regi- 
ment did good service and he proved himself the bravest of men. 

It is amusing at this day, so many years later, to look back and recall 
how the brave, good-hearted Lieutenant used to march the boys round in the 
morning until all were in line for roll-call. Some laggards did not always 
respond — -they had not got used to a soldier's life — so they turned over on 
their straw mattress to have another "forty winks," but the order went forth 
to drag them from their beds and land them in the snow, or mud, barefooted 



36 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

as they were. Very few needed a second dose of such an awakener. 

"How we enjoyed that first night in camp," said a comrade when 
relating his experiences. ' ' how we enjoyed those first rations dealt out to 
us, sitting on the ground, with tin cup and plate, and how well we slept. 
It was a new experience, but an enjoyable one. We felt like boys out for 
a picnic." 

In those first days the men chose their own tent companions, and so 
while some tents had only seven occupants others had as many as thirteen. 
How the boys made the hills echo back their songs and merry laughter ! If 
that was soldiering, it was a pleasant experience. 

There was one drawback, the nights were cold. Did that trouble the 
gallant recruits ? No, but it was a vexation to the farmers of the district. 
On one side of the camp a nice snake fence divided the farm from the camp. 
The boys saw it and admired its symmetrical beauty. Big fires that 
illumined the sky were lighted in the camp, and round the cheerful blaze 
the boys sang songs and told stories. Some of the recruits had seen service, 
having served ninety days; they told how they had met the enemy at Bull 
Run, and having seen the daring Secessionists, had returned to Washington 
as fast as legs could carry them, just to tell the President that the Southern- 
ers meant to fight. 

Som.e, however, had seen enough to realize that war was a serious 
matter. One, who had been in the Second Connecticut Infantry, said: "I 
was at Bull Run and saw some frightful scenes. We were at halt, when a 
comrade captured a prisoner, a German belonging to the Eighth South 
Carolina Regiment. I went with the comrade and his prisoner to Major 
Colburn for instructions as to how to dispose of him. The prisoner asked 
one privilege as his last, which the Major humanely granted. He said his 
brother lay a short distance off, in a dying condition, and he wished to see 
him. I bade him lead the way, and I followed. 

" He took me to an old log hut but a few rods from where our regiment 
was halted. On the north side, in the shade, we found the wounded man. 
Our prisoner spoke to him, he opened his eyes, the film of death had 
already overspread them, and the tide of life was fast ebbing. He was 
covered with blood, and the swarms of flies and mosquitoes, which were 
fattening upon his life's blood, indicated that he had lain there some time. 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861-1865 37 

They clasped hands together, muttered a few words in the German 
language, supphcating the Throne of Grace for their families at home, 
kissed and bade each other a final adieu ; the prisoner remarking, as we led 
him away, for the column was moving, ' Brother, you are dying, and I am a 
prisoner! ' The German had been shot with a musket ball in the back, just 
over his hip ; from which we inferred that he was on the retreat when the 
deadly ball overtook him. I knew then that war was not a nice pastime." 

The fires were getting low and the men turned in for the night 
and dreamt of home, of wives and sweethearts, of the glories and horrors 
of war. 

As the blaze of the camp fires lighted up the hills and reflected bright 
pictures on the face of the river, the farmers, from their comfortable 
homes, looked towards the camp and uttered many a " God bless them," as 
they thought of the gallant sons of Connecticut who were going to defend 
the flag. 

'• Mighty glad they've got a fire," said one farmer, as he piled more logs 
on his own hearth; '"pears to me it 'ud be tarnation cold without." 

"Yes, the brave fellows deserve the best we can do for them," 
answered his wife. 

" If our boy had lived he'd have been with them." 

"Yes, 'spect he would, Dan'l." 

" I'd have disowned him if he hadn't." 

"It would have been his duty, though it would have broken my heart." 

The old couple went to bed and fell asleep with the sound of the noisy 
singing round the camp fire which the clear night bore on the wind to their 
pleasant home. 

In the morning, the farmer returned to the house for breakfast after 
his early work on the farm looking after the cows. His face was disfigured 
by a scowl, his hands were clenched, and his wife saw something had 
vexed him. 

"What is it, Dan'l?" 

" Gol darn it, those tarnation thieves — those tin soldiers ." 

"What?" 

" Have stolen my fence. Not a rail is left, gol darn 'em' " 

"But, Dan'l, they wanted a fire . " 



38 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

" Fire, bah, pretty soldiers to be afraid of a bit of cold." 

" But you said only last night . " 

" I was a fool. I'll make the State pay that I will, and darn me if I 
don't put a stop to their thieving ." 

" Dan'l, if our boy had been alive, he'd ." 

"You're right, dear wife. It's tough on me, but they are going to 
fight for us." 

It was not to be expected that every man who had signed the roll 
would be as enthusiastic after a night or two in the camp, the only wonder 
was that so few wanted to withdraw. There was one amusing instance of 
this changeability. 

One recruit had experienced enough of camp life before the second day 
was over. Though he sat by the camp fire, he shivered and shook worse 
than anybody with the ague. His face was red with fever and all thought 
the best thing to do was to put him to bed. Blankets enough to have 
crushed an ordinary man were piled on him, hot stones were placed all 
round his body, but still he shook 

" As if a fierce Icelandic rain, 
Or horrible Arctic hurricane. 
Were drivuig and freezing body and brain." 

At times the heat would be too much for him and he would gently 
raise the blankets to let out some of the hot air, but the boys quickly tucked 
them round him again. Towards morning he began again to 

" Shudder and shiver and quake, 
Twist and struggle, and writhe and groan, 
Till joints were loose and sinews slack, 
Till every bone was a torturing thing, 
And every nerve was a hornet's sting! " 

In the morning he was very sick, in fact almost dead with the sweating 
and shaking. He was sent home, but ordered to rejoin in a week. Home 
life cured him, but no sooner did he rejoin than life became a burden 
wherever he might be. He got delirious, he taxed all the skill of the 
surgeon, doctors were sent for to consult and some declared that he was 
only sham:ning; others that his sufferings were real but caused by fear — 
that he had an attack of "Gunpowder Fever." For days he was like one 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 39 

dead, his muscles were rigid and he had to be fed with a spoon. His 
deUrium at times bordered on insanity, and at last it was resolved to send 
him home, discharged from the service. A few days at home was sufficient 
to insure a cure. He was again the happy, jolly fellow without a care or 
trouble. 

He was no coward, his spirit was full of patriotic fervor, but his nerves 
were so sensitive that he could never control them. Later he re-enlisted, 
but his record was known, and it was thought better to let him be the stay 
of his family at home rather than a soldier of Uncle Sam. 

While waiting for the Mustering Officer, discipline was not very strict. 
Guard duty was performed after a loose fashion. One night the rain was 
coming down in torrents, freezing as it fell. The comrade on guard duty 
did not relish his position, and no wonder; he had to continue his lonely 
march to and fro all the evening. It was hard to see the logs blazing in the 
distance and the men sitting around the fire, but when taps sounded the 
stillness became oppressive. Ten o'clock came and nothing could be heard 
but the patter of rain on the tents. The night was bitterly cold, but the 
sentinel grew so tired of his monotonous marching that he sat down and 
nearly froze. He thought of home and the comforts he had abandoned, but 
he did not regret enlisting. It was not too late, for he had not been 
mustered in, so he could have retired. He was just as enthusiastic as ever, 
though the silence and rain and cold damped his spirits. 

He tried to remember a song to sing, but though he had been accounted 
a good singer and had ahvays a song ready for any occasion, at that time he 
could not remember anything but a nursery rhyme, which he had not heard 
since his boyhood's early days. It haunted his mind and the silence of the 
night was broken by the strains: 

"Mary had a little lamb, 

Its fleece was white as snow, 
And everywhere that ]\Iary went, 
The lamb was sure to go." 

He commenced the verse over again, this time louder; then his voice 
gained strength and half the camp might have heard him before he stopped 
of his own accord, but from a tent near the camp line came the loud voice 
of a comrade shouting: 



40 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

" Shut up ! Give that calf more rope ! " 

Again the voice of the sentinel started : 
"Mary had a little " 

He got no farther for a regular fusilade of boots and other missiles fell 
so close to the astonished sentry that he began to think the whole 
.Secessionist army had invaded the camp. 

Not one of the recruits liked guard duty, it was the most unpleasant 
part of camp life. Every stratagem was resorted to in order to escape, and 
many a man would have willingly paid a comrade to take his place. A 
comrade tells an amusing story of this objection to guard duty and what a 
man would endure to escape it. 

"One night we had a Northeaster, " he said: "the snow was coming 
down furiously. We had just stowed in good for the night, and were telling 
stories and having a good time. I remember there were eight of us in that 
tent, and we were as comfortable as bugs in a rug. We heard the Orderly 
Sergeant coming along the line. Presently he called out, asking if a certain 
comrade was in the tent. My comrade whispered, ' Don't answer, for he is 
after a man to go on guard duty, and it is awful to be out in that storm.' 
No one answered, but the question was repeated, and the comrade asked 
what was wanted, 

" ' You are detailed for guard,' was the Sergeant's answer. 

" ' My Lord! Just as I got turned in, and now I must go out in that 
terrible snowstorm. ' 

" In the tent with us was the Battery blacksmith, a powerful fellow, as 
full of fun as an egg is full of meat. He turned to the reluctant guard and 
said: 

"' If you will let me slap you on your naked body ten times as your 
mother used to do, I will take your place. ' 

" ' I'll stand anything rather than endure a night out there.' 

"The comrade bared that portion of his anatomy which had often felt 
the weight of his mother's slipper, and the large hand of the blacksmith 
came down with such a fearful slap that the victim gave a great yell and 
jumped around for a few minutes. 

" 'I can't stand that, I'll go on guard,' he said, but in a few moments 
the stinging ceased but the snow grew worse. He looked out of the tent 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 



41 



and shivered, Tvirning to the blacksmith he told him to give him the other 
nine slaps, for any physical torture was preferable to guard duty that night. 
Another slap was administered and he howled worse than before, but after 
a brief rest he took the balance, and the blacksmith answered to the Sergeant 
of the Guard for duty. In the morning the blacksmith looked a wreck, he 
had not been relieved all night, and for the consolation of his comrade, 
whose place he had taken, he said that no physical suffering could be equal 
to that night's torture in the storm, and that it was the worst bargain he 
ever made." 

On October 26 there was the greatest excitement in camp, for it was 
known that the United States Officer had arrived, and that before night the 
recruits would be mustered into the service of the United States. 

Lieut. Chamberlain performed his work in a business-like manner, 
and sixty men took the oath of allegiance and became a part of the United 
States Army. It was a proud day for those men and until their last earthly 
breath is drawn they will delight in speaking of themselves as "Charter 
Members of the First Light Battery of Connecticut Volunteers." 

Then commenced the real work of camp life. Very few of the 
members had any idea of military duty. Com- 
rade Charles E. Jillson had served three months 
in Company B, First Connecticut Infantry, and had 
re-enlisted in the Battery, and Comrade Henry E. 
Peck had been also in the war, having answered 
the three months' call and seen service in Com- 
pany G, Second Connecticut Infantry. These 
two comrades were looked up to as being prodigies 
in their line as well as great heroes. They gave 
the Battery the first military instruction the 
members received, but as they knew only infantry 
drill the men merely learned how to perform the 
simple movements of marching, facing, etc. 

Comrade Peck only stayed eleven months 
with the Battery. His war record commenced 
when the first call was made, he enlisting on the 226. of April, 1861. He 
was mustered in, May 7, at Brewster Park, New Haven. The Second 




CHARLES E. JILLSON. 

Sergt. Co. B, ist Conn. In- 
fantry, April 2:;, 1861, to July 31, 
iSoi. Mustered ist Serg;t. Conn. 
Light Battery, Oct. 26, 1861. 



42 HISTORl AND REMINISCENCES 

Infantry embarked for Washington, May lo, on the steamer "Cahawba," and 
went into camp at Meridian Hill, where it stayed imtil the i6th of Jime. 
In the first battle of Bull Run, July 21, the regiment acquitted itself with 
great credit, maintaining its regimental formations throughout the action, 
and demonstrating by its coolness under fire the excellence of its material 
and the thoroughness of its discipline. In that engagement and afterwards 
in saving and escorting to Washington the arms, ammimition, camp 
equipage and a miscellaneous variety of stores left behind and deserted by 
other regiments, the Connecticut regiments proved that they inherited the 
pluck, patriotism and courage of their revolutionary fathers. Comrade 
Peck was mustered out with the regiment on August 7, 1S61, and on 
October 7, in the same year, he wrote his name on the enlistment blank of 
the First Connecticut Light Battery. He was discharged September 19, 
1862. His war record was not ended, for after a short period of home life 
he enlisted in the First Connecticut Volunteer Cavalry as a Private, March 
9, 1863. He was promoted Corporal April 28, 1863, and became Sergeant 
May I, in the same year. At the skirmish on June 10, 1864, at Old Church 
Tavern, Virginia, he was captured by the Confederates, and died at Millen, 
Ga., on November 3, 1864. Such was the war record of one of the 
comrades who taught the men of the First Light Battery their first drill. 

On November 2, a bitterly cold day, the order to fall in was given, and 
to the great and inexpressible joy of the comrades a good overcoat was 
passed to each. The uniforming was done by instalments, for it was not 
until November 6 that shoes and hats were received. 

On the morning of the 7th of November there was excitement in camp, 
for the order was given to proceed to Meriden and fetch the guns. 

All knew that there would be fun, for the horses were unused to such 
work. An old soldier selected the horses, and he had a peculiar idea of 
adaptability. If a horse would kick, he thought he would make a good 
battery horse ; if he did not use his hind heels vigorously he was sent to 
the cavalry. 

One day a gentleman brought into camp as fine a pair of carriage 
horses as ever were driven. He wanted to sell them. 

"I can do nothing with them," he said, "they kick, run away, and 
have ever}' bad habit possible." 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861-1863 43 

" We are not paying fancy prices," the officer said. 
"I know that; give me the regulation price and take them." 
The Government only paid $125 each for the horses, though this 
particular team was worth five times as much. 

"Don't attempt to use them except harnessed to a gun," was the late 
owner's parting advice. 

The horses well deserved the character they had. They were wild and 
vicious. Comrade Griswold tried to exercise them, but he acknowledged 
that they were not to his liking, and Comrade Elias Norton took them in 
hand. When the order came to go to Meriden for the guns, Comrade Henry 
Spencer asked the privilege of taking this particular team. He was a fine 
horseman and had looked with admiring eyes on the team from the very 
first moment they had entered camp. 

He got to Meriden all right and hitched up to a gun. For some time 
the horses behaved themselves splendidly and many a time did Spencer look 
back with a glance which said as expressively as words: " I told you so !" 

About half way from Meriden to Camp Tyler the road was cut out of 
the side of the hill and very steep. On one side rose the hill, while on the 
other side of the road a deep ravine imperilled travelers. The gun began 
running down on the horses. That was more than they could stand. They 
started to run. Comrade Spencer pulled the lines, but they cared not 
for that, they were going to be master. Up the hill slowly approached two 
yoke of oxen hitched to a load of wood. Spencer had the right of way, but 
the horses and oxen were at loggerheads, each wanted to choose the 
same part of the road. One of the wheels of the gtm hit the hub of 
the wood wagon and in an instant there was a crashing down the ravine and 
wood, wagon and oxen were heaped in inextricable confusion at the bottom. 
Spencer landed the gun safely in camp. 

Those horses one day nearly killed Comrade Elias Norton, and only 
Comrade Spencer could do anything with them. They were of very little 
use to the army, for they both died of glanders on the way from New York 
to Beaufort. Their faithful attendant. Comrade Spencer, fell sick with the 
same disease and died February S, 1862. Poor fellow, he lost his life, 
the country a brave man, the army a good soldier, through his devotion 
to the vicious brutes. 



44 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

When the guns were in camp it became more than ever necessary 
to maintain the semblance of miHtary life. Guard duty was performed after 
a fashion, and the Corporal of the Guard had plenty of business in attending 
to calls from all parts of the camp. One of those first nights tested 
the courage of the Guard for the rain came down in torrents, freezing as it 
fell. So easy going was everything at that time that an officer took 
a sentry off duty "because it was raining too fast," and bade him seek the 
shelter of his tent. One comrade says: "I shall never forget my first and 
only guard duty. It was a frosty night in early November and the 
stars shone brightly in a moonless sky. The mountains to the north of us, 
over toward Kensington, stood out boldly against the sky, a landmark 
towards which my eyes involuntarily turned whenever I faced it in my lonely 
walk. I was in the clothes I had worn from home, and the old, useless 
musket was the only thing soldierly about me. I was very vigilant, though, 
for it was said that Lieut. Metcalf was fond of ' running post ' and of 
sometimes taking away the musket from the sentinel. Back and forth I 
walked till every minute seemed an hour, and when I was finally relieved I 
had been on guard four hours. So ended the most disagreeable post 
of guard duty for me, for I never again ' walked post.' I think often 
of that winter in camp, how cold it was, and yet how warm we were in our 
tents with the little stoves the State gave us. How grand and soldierly our 
drill seemed to us then when we used to hitch up and march round the lot, 
and yet, in the light of our later experience, how crude it all was." 

Every day brought its news, and how eagerly every item was discussed. 
It mattered very little whether the news was true or merely hearsay rumor. 
Each day it was reported that the Battery was surely going at once to the 
front, but by night the faces of the comrades grew long and doleful when it 
was known that the rumor was but a canard. 

Governor Buckingham was determined that the First Light Battery 
should have an able commander, so he allowed it to be known that he had 
offered the Captaincy to Emory Upton, who was graduated from West Point 
in 1 83 1. To the regret of the Governor, and every member of the Battery, 
the offer was declined. But, even now, the comrades look back on the 
record of General Upton and think how near they were to being identified 
with him during the struggle. In the war Upton served as aid to General 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 45 

Tyler, was wounded at Bull Run, and took part in the battles of South 
Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. At 
Spottsylvania he was again wounded, but was present at the battle of Cold 
Harbor, the siege of Petersburg, the Shenandoah campaign and elsewhere. 
He was promoted through the various grades, and at the end of the war had 
the brevet rank of Major-General. His treatise on "Infantry Tactics," was 
adopted by the Government in 1867, and he became Commander at West 
Point. 

On November 14 every man was elated at the news that the Governor 
and General Daniel Tyler, in whose honor the camp had been named, would 
review the Battery. 

The officers did their best to give the camp a military appearance, and 
the men believed that there was not a more soldierly looking body of men 
to be found in the whole of the New England States. General Tyler 
addressed them, and every comrade felt proud when the General said: 

"Light Batteries are the real aristocracy of the Army, and infantrymen 
considered it an honor to visit the camp of a Light Battery." 

After General Tyler had made his address the Governor announced 
that as he had reserved the right to appoint a First Lieutenant, he should 
avail himself of the opportunity and appoint Seldon T. Porter, of Andover, 
First Lieutenant of the First Connecticut Light Battery. The announce- 
ment was received with cheers, and every man was ready to give the 
Lieutenant all the honor due to his rank. The other commissioned officers 
were then elected by the men. On a count it was found that William T. 
Seward, of Guilford, had been elected Junior First Lieutenant, but Lieut. 
Seward declined the office, and John S. Cannon, of New Haven, was elected, 
with William T. Seward and George Metcalf as Second Lieutenants. 

A few days after the election of commissioned officers, a committee was 
appointed to consider the adaptability of candidates and to make nominations. 
It may be that the members of that committee were the best men for the 
offices ; at this late day all are pleased to think so, for when the committee 
presented its report it was found that the members had nominated each 
other. On the day the men were mustered in there had been some smolder- 
ing flames of dissatisfaction, for certain men had induced their friends to 
enlist, under the impression that they would get some kind of office. 



46 



HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 



Especially was this true of the Hebron squad, but when the grumbling- was 
at its height, Comrade Warren Bissell said he was not going to back out if 
he never got an office. His brave stand influenced the others, and all agreed 
to take the oath, whatever might be their fate. However, when the organi- 
zation was about to be completed, the hopes of those who had been promised 
an office, or had been led to believe they would get one, were raised, and 
they listened to the reading of the report of the nominating committee. 

The names were read off and only one man objected. Comrade William 
Fowler spoke out in meeting, saying: 

"I would rather have my arm cut off than have a nomination in that 
way." 

The others accepted and by unanimous vote were elected; but as a 
comrade has since said : 

" If a mule had been nominated he would have been elected.-" 
Though the feeling was far from pleasant at the time all acquiesced in 
the decision and gave a hearty support to the newly elected officers, who 
proved themselves good comrades and gallant men. 

Every day new recruits came and were miistered in, one being James 
Reynolds, who, having been in the regular 
artillery, was of great service in the Battery, 
showing the men the standing gun and other 
artillery drills. 

Comrade and Historian Herbert W. Beecher 
joined at this time. He had already known some- 
thing of military life, having served in the Second 
Connecticut Infantry. The cjuick march from 
Bull Run had convinced him of the superiority of 
a regiment in which he would have the advantage 
of riding instead of walking, so he chose the Light 
Battery. When the news of the firing on Fort 
Sumpter reached Mallory & Tuttle's store in Fair 
Haven, where he was employed, he distinguished 
himself in a way which might have led to very 
serious consequences. In his haste to show his loyalty and zeal he ran up 
the flag "Union" down. People remembered that he was a Virginian 




JAMES H. REYNOLDS, 
Of Meriden. 

Mustered in November 14, 1861. 
Served three years. Wounded 
May 10, 1864, at Chester Station, 
Virginia. 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1863 47 

and had only come north because his friends desired him to be on the right 
side when trouble commenced. Some wanted to lynch him, but cooler 
heads recalled how the Beechers had been good New Englanders from the 
very earliest time, and that in the State the Beecher family was as loyal as 
any. When the youth was shown his mistake he quickly lowered the flag, 
ran it up the right way and saluted it with boyish enthusiasm. When the 
Rev. John Davenport led a company of emigrants and settled at New 
Haven in 1638, establishing the colony of New Haven, which included 
Guilford, Milford, Stamford and Branford, Comrade Beecher's ancestor was 
one of the incorporators of the colony. 

At one of the re-unions Comrade Beecher related his first experience 
with the Battery: 

" I was brought up in Virginia," he said, " where roads were bad and 
everyone had to ride horseback. Almost the first thing I can remember 
was being on the back of a horse, and while still a j^oimg child was 
considered a fair horseman. When I reached Camp Tyler and looked over 
the Battery I thought it was composed of the worst lot of horsemen I had 
ever seen. I was overheard saying so, and for my criticism got detailed as 
a rider. Most men tried to avoid taking care of horses, as it gave the 
driver extra work, so they would purposely act awkwardly about a horse. 
I did not understand the game at first, but I soon 'tumbled to it,' as we 
should say now. There was a shed built for a stable and the horses w^ere 
hitched, in the alley, heel to heel. I was given a pair of horses, one of 
them was a kicker. I went to him and said, 'Whoa, boy! ' For saying that 
I received a kick which sent me across the alley against the horse on the 
other side. As he did not like my company any better than the first horse, 
he sent me back again, and I w^as again greeted with another kick. That 
was my first fight with the Battery and I got the worst of it. I soon learned 
that all the horses were kickers. I like to look back to those days at Camp 
Tyler, to the nights when we used to sit round the stove in a large building 
singing songs and telling stories. How we used to shoxit out 'John Brown's 
Body, ' and ask in the loudest tones : 

" 'Oh, say does the Star Spangled Banner still wave, 
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave ? ' 



48 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

"And then we would sing with stentorian voices the glories of the ' Red 
White and Blue.' The weather was cold and we had hard work to keep from 
freezing. We used to wrap our blankets and overcoats round us when 
we went to sleep, and in the morning we had to go down to the river and 
break the ice before we could wash our faces. " 

The comrades bought Manuals of Artillery drill which they studied 
when they were not cutting wood, policing the camp, drilling, cleaning 
horses, singing songs in the old cook shanty, or flirting with the girls who 
daily visited the camp. The State had erected a shanty in which the meals 
were cooked by a Chinaman, and in this shanty, around the big cook stove, 
the men sat and discussed the war and expressed their fears that they would 
never go to the front. 

All seemed to agree that it was a glorious experience, and if that was a 
soldier's life who would ever want to be a civilian? 

Although the First Connecticut Cavalry was camped in the field adjoin- 
ing the Battery street, yet the favorite resort of the young ladies was the 
artillery camp. Each day the boys were visited by bevies of young ladies 
who showed their patriotism by doing all they could to make the soldier's 
life a happy one. Their smiling faces and flashing eyes, their ready wit 
and brilliant repartee, their acts of friendship and words of encouragement 
turned the hearts of many, and flirtation occupied the time which should 
have been devoted to the study of military tactics. 

" For smiling lasses, brimming glasses, 
Greeted us when daylight passes, 
And then we sang to the skies above, 
A soldier's life is the life we love." 

In all their civilian days the men of the Light Battery had never 
experienced so much attention from the ladies. All sorts of delicacies, 
warm under-clothing, much needed by men who were sleeping under 
canvas for the first time in their lives, and everything the dear, fair ones of 
Meriden could think of were brought to the camp. 

Ladies of an uncertain age, whose eyes needed the aid of science to 
enable them to see clearly, and some girls just graduated from school, vied 
with each other in making the boys who loved their country and were 
going to fight for it comfortable. 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 49 

Then the river and pond were frozen over and had a surface as smooth 
as glass. Of course, the girls considered it a great privilege to skate with 
real, live soldiers, even though those soldiers had never been under fire and 
scarcely knew whether powder or ball should go into the gun first. How 
the girls would coquettishly put up their feet to have the skate straps 
fastened, and how strange it was that there was always something wrong 
with the straps, if one might judge by the number of times they had to be 
looked after. The soldiers would kneel on one knee and the fair damsel 
raise her foot so that it rested on his other knee, the strap would be adjusted, 
and again the two would go skimming over the smooth surface of the 
frozen river. 

The girls were good skaters and plenty of fun was obtained that winter, 
though on one occasion a skating adventure nearly ended in a tragedy. 

Comrade Griswold was as good a skater as he was a man, and that was 
saying a great deal. He generally managed to get the best lady skater as a 
partner. On one very cold night with a pretty girl by his side, whose 
cheeks glowed with the crimson of health, and whose tiny feet seemed to 
glide over the smooth ice like those of a fairy, he skated up the river quite a 
long way. 

Perhaps Comrade Griswold had an object in view — it may be that he 
wished his companion to get tired so that in resting before returning there 
might be an opportunity for a little innocent flirting. Anyway, he 
suggested that they should go to the east side to an old wharf, the scene of 
many a pleasant flirtation. 

With hands crossed and forms erect, these two graceful skaters pro- 
ceeded at a rapid pace imtil within a few feet of the wharf. 

Both were looking forward to a good rest, when a change came o'er 
the spirit of their dream. 

"Splash! Splash!" 

It was an instantaneous plunge into the water for the couple. 

As both went down Comrade Griswold seized the girl and tried to lift 
her up on the ice. His feet did not touch the bottom, but he trod water and 
gave her another push upward. 

She did not lose her presence of mind but caught hold of the ice 
and crawled out. 



50 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

Mark Hall was skating and saw the ice give way. Instantly he 
grabbed hold of a rail and sent it skimming along the ice towards the 
struggling couple. The rail flew with great force. A new terror seized 
upon Comrade Griswold, his quick perception told him that if the rail struck 
his companion it would kill her or maim her for life. He jumped up in the 
water, caught his hand on the ice, and, with almost miraculous quickness, 
sent the rail spinning in another direction. 

The girl was saved, Edward. Griswold was a hero, and if it had been 
known who had purposely cut the ice there might have been a lynching at 
Camp Tyler. 

When the danger was over the girl laughed merrily at her plight, for her 
clothes were frozen stiff and she appeared like a living, moving statue. 

Had not Comrade Griswold been a man of honor he might have lost his 
heart to her, but he knew she was betrothed to his cousin, whose name 
was Edwin. This similarity of names caused many funny experiences. 
On one occasion Comrade Griswold called on the young lady with a message 
from his cousin. She was always brimful of happy fun and mischief, and 
after a few moments she slipped across the street and told her sister that 
Ed. had come. The sister was busy kneading bread, and, filling her hands 
with floiir, crossed the street, and entering the parlor quietly threw her 
arms round Edward Griswold's neck, filling his eyes and ears full of flour. 
When she found it was Edward, whom she had never before seen, and not 
Edwin, her sister's fiance^ she threw her apron over her head and ran from 
the house, much to her sister's amusement and Comrade Griswold's con- 
fusion. 

Though there was a pretense and show of guard duty^ — the sentry patrol- 
ing his beat regularly with musket over his shoulder — the guard was but a 
pretense, for the sink was outside the guard line and so the boys used to go 
and come just as they felt inclined. One frosty night there was such a rush 
for the sink that it was a matter of wonder whether the doctor should not be 
consulted, but the knowing ones laughed, for they had been let into the 
secret. Two comrades, having leave of absence, visited Meriden, and on 
their return carried with them a jug of good whiskey. The cold was intense, 
and several times the comrades stopped to warm their almost frozen fingers. 
The night was dark and unpleasant, but they knew the guard would watch 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861-1865 51 

them come in and perhaps challeng-e the jug- of whiskey, so the}- put the jug- 
down on the ice and cautiously proceeded to reconnoitre. All was right, 
they could sHp in with their precious burden easily and unchallenged, but 
when they went back for the whiskey they failed to locate it. For an hour 
they searched up and down the ice, going on their hands and knees and 
feeling their way until they were well nigh frozen, though their thoughts 
and words were warm enough to have melted the thickest ice. 

They walked into camp at last, but without the precious luxury. Word 
was passed around that somewhere on the ice there was a gallon of Bourbon. 
It was strange how many had to pass through the guard line that night. 
For hours the search continued, and when the boys returned it was guessed 
that the whiskey came with them, but no jug was seen. The Battery was a 
jovial place for the remaining hours of that night, for, as one comrade said, 
"all felt elated and inspired by the search." 

It seems to be human nature to want that which is forbidden, and so it 
proved in Camp Tyler. It was against the rules to have whiskey in the 
camp, and this rule seemed to make men want whiskey who never thought 
of touching it before, and many resorted to all sorts of stratagems to 
obtain it. 

The sutler, a man named Rogers, from Meriden, was perfectly willing 
to sell the fiery compound to the men, so long as he felt it would not be 
known; so he did not sell to all, but only to those whom he felt he could 
trust. This apparent favoritism angered some of the men, and most of 
their comrades felt it a slur on the Battery. 

One evening, while sitting round the camp fire, the subject of the 
sutler's favoritism was mentioned. Some were very angry, others laughed 
but those who laughed were the ones who could get whiskey on the sly at 
any time. 

"If he refused me, I'd wreck his shanty," said one. 

"What right has he anyway to refuse one of the country's defenders ? " 

"Wouldn't it be fun if he should find his business ruined ? " whispered 
one of the mildest men in the Battery. 

Presently one of the men rose to his feet, then another, and soon all 
were standing. No one spoke, yet each felt that a raid on the sutler was 
about to be made. 



52 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

No one knew who was the leader; it really seemed as though the same 
idea occurred to each man. 

All left the camp fire, and, with one accord, began to run. 

Some of the cavalry guessed what was in the wind and joined 
the race. 

A rush was made for the sutler's tent. 

What good was it for him to resist ? 

Not a man had the right to leave the camp, for it was after tattoo, 
but having left — well, as one expressed it — *' they might as well be hung for 
a sheep as a lamb," so a little more lawlessness would not matter. 

The sutler saw all his valued stores disappear. Whiskey, about which 
he dare not complain, for he had no right to sell it; cheese, canned goods, 
everything he had was seized, and much got rid of without asking leave. 
"Stolen kisses are sweet," says the old proverb, and so the men found the 
stolen dainties far nicer than if they had bought and paid for them. 

The officers were seen approaching. Lieut. Porter shouted to 
his men : 

"Go back to camp, every one of you! " 

The men laughed and ran, but not one cared for the ofiEicer's command. 
Lieut. Cannon tried his best to get the men back; the other officers 
appeared to be strict, but, after all, officers and men were only human, and 
perhaps the officers would have liked to have joined in the raid had not 
pride and dignity forbade. 

Not a red cent's worth was left after the raid was over, and the officers 
knew that to punish the ringleaders would be to punish every man in the 
Battery, so the affair was passed over quietly. 

That was not the only time the sutler's tent was raided. One night 
George Durgin was on guard, when Comrade Blatchley crept up quietly and 
said that he had heard that the sutler had a good lot of beer and he meant 
to have some. 

"How are you going to manage it. Sod?" asked Comrade Durgin. 

"I wouldn't be surprised if a barrel came rolling down the hill into 
camp presently," was the answer. 

A few minutes later the Sentry was surprised at finding a barrel rolling 
toward him. 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 53 

He challenged it like a good Sentry, but no notice was taken of the 
challenge, so he arrested the barrel, and in a few moments Comrade 
Blatchley was on the scene with a pail and cup. A hole was made in the 
barrel and the pail filled. 

Comrade George Bliss was Ofificer of the Guard, and as he passed and 
saw a musket standing, doing duty as Sentry, he thought he would 
investigate. 

He found Comrade Durgin standing by a pail, drinking out of a tin cup. 

"What have you got there?" 

"Water!" was the answer as the Sentry saluted. 

"I'll take a drink." 

Quaking and trembling, but not daring to refuse, Comrade Durgin gave 
the officer a cup of beer. Comrade Bliss drank it, handed the cup back to 
the Sentry and said : 

"That is very good water, I'll take another drink." 

When the sutler looked for that barrel the next morning, he found it 
floating down the stream empty. 

The authorities did not neglect the spiritual wants of the men, even if 
they denied them spirituous rations. Each Sunday, services were conducted 
in the camp, to which both Cavalry and the Battery were invited. 

Some officers considered it respectable to have services, others were 
deeply religious, but whatever the prompting motive, the religious observ- 
ances were maintained with regularity. 

A good story was told by one of the Cavalrymen, who had re-enlisted 
after having served his ninety days in response to the first call. 

"I was in camp at Meridian Hill, near Washington," he said, "and 
overheard a conversation about the spiritual condition of the soldiers. The 
Colonel of my regiment was noted for the liberal use of words which made 
the air very blue for some time after he had spoken. 

"A long-faced, psalm singing son of a gun, who had been appointed a 
kind of roving missionary Chaplain, called on my Colonel, and with a 
nasal twang, and his eyes turned up until the whites, only, could be seen, 
said: ' The Lord has sent me to see you. Colonel.' 

"The Colonel bit his mustache, but did not speak for a moment. He 
motioned to an empty box in front of a tent and the Chaplain sat down. 



54 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

"I shall never forget, that Chaplain. He wore a white stock with a bow 
big enough for Gabriel's wings, the whole thing must have contained enough 
stuff for a girl's dress. The Colonel looked at him, as he sat twiddling his 
thumbs and turning up the whites of his eyes, just hke a dying duck in a 
thunder storm. 

" 'Fire away,' said the Colonel at length. 

"The Chaplain commenced in a sing-song voice — 'Colonel, you have 
one of the finest regiments in the army.' 

" 'You bet you bottoin dollar I have," the officer replied. 

" 'Do you think you pay sufficient attention to the religious instruction 
of your men?' 

"The Colonel stroked his mustache, picked his teeth with his knife with 
which he had just been paring his nails, thought for a minute and then 
answered : 

" 'Well, damme, I don't know.' 

" ' A lively interest has been awakened in the — Massachusetts,' said the 
chaplain. 'The Lord has blessed his servants above his desserts and yester- 
day ten were baptized. And there was great joy in heaven.' 

" My colonel jumped to his feet and called to his aide : ' Sergeant Major, 

have fifteen men detailed immediately for baptism, I'll be d d if I'll 

allow any Massachusett Regiment to get ahead of me ' " 

The comrade told the story and declared that it was absolutely ti'ue. 

One Sunday the Rev. W. H. Miller visited Camp Tyler to preach to 
the soldiers. The morning was cold and the service was held in the wooden 
cook house and mess room. 

The young preacher was anxious to rivet the attention of the men so he 
took for his text the romantic story of Gideon. He grew eloquent and told 
of the earnestness of the prophet. He, with dramatic power, described how 
Gideon ordered the men to go down to the river side and drink. From the 
drinkers he would choose the army of the Lord. Three hundi:ed men laid 
down and lapped water like dogs, and these men Gideon selected as his army. 

While the soldiers were listening to the dramatically told incident there 
was a scene enacted which startled both preacher and hearers. 

" Sod " Blatchley had risen to his feet and in aloud voice challenged the 
statement. 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861-1865 55 

" What are you giving- us ? " he shouted, "Gideon gave them whiskey," 

A church is hardly the place for argument and the men tried to silence 
Blatchley, but "Sod " was in a disputing mood and insisted that no General 
would choose water lappers for soldiers. Comrade Griswold took Blatchley's 
arm and tried to lead him out of the building. "Sod " kept on mutterino-; 

"That may be in the Bible, but it isn't Gospel. Give me whiskey for 
my lapping." 

The near presence of the Cavalry made the camp more lively, though 
the farmers said that the more soldiers there were, the fewer chickens they 
could keep. The Cavalry blamed it all on the Light Artillery, and the 
Battery men retaliated by saying that they had no need to forage, as the 
ladies brought them all the luxuries they wanted. 

There was a sort of rivalry in pride between the two branches of the 
service, and each thought the other a grade lower. This led to a display of 
drilling for the benefit of visitors to the camp. 

One day the men of the Battery were playing football when a company 
of Cavalry undertook to ride through the street headed by a drum and fife 
corps. They made all the noise possible in order to impress their impor- 
tance on the Battery. The men went on playing, and one of the boys kicked 
the ball with such vigor that it struck the Cavalry officer's horse and scared it. 

Had the ball been fired with hostile intent from an enemy's cannon, it 
could not have caused more consternation. 

The horse reared and plunged, the officer was sent flying over its head. 

The Cavalry was indignant, the Battery secretly jubilant; it was a 
victory of the Artillery over the Cavalry. The officer picked himself up, 
his bright uniform looking far from imposing. 

"Who kicked that ball ? " he demanded. 

There was no reply. Not a man would inform against his comrade. 
It was an accident, then why should any fuss be made over it ? 

The officer was furious; his pride had received a fall; he felt 
humiliated. 

The comrade who had kicked the ball was badly scared. He made 
sure he would be imprisoned, perhaps shot, and in his fear he climbed 
over the horses and hid in the hay, and could not be induced to come out 
until after dark. 



56 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

"To-morrow will be Thanksgiving," said one of the boys the night 
before that National feast. Many had received furlough to go home for 
the day, but many lived too far away, and there was nothing for them to 
do but stay in camp. It was a gloomy outlook for them. 

Early in the morning, almost before reveille, the good people of 
Meriden began coming to the camp, carrying good old-fashioned pumpkin 
pies, roasted turkeys, great pails of cranberry sauce, and all sorts of good 
things. Then when the dinner hour came, a long mess table was rigged 
up, and the ladies of Meriden waited on the soldiers. It was almost as 
good as being at home. 

The memory of the kindness of the ladies of Meriden will last as long 
as history and children's children will tell the story how their grandfathers 
were treated by the fair sex at that time when the nation was torn asunder 
by civil war. 

O woman, how much patriot fire 

Thy breatli lias woke to flame ! 

How many heroes were not such 

But for thy consecrating touch, 

None less tlian God can name. 

To tell all the humorous episodes of Camp Tyler would fill a book. So 
many incidents and experiences partook of the comic that even a generation 
after, the comrades laugh heartily as they recall the time spent at the Camp. 

One night a comrade was returning to camp from Meriden. He had 
made a big resolve to take back two jugs of whiskey. Before it was time to 
start he had imbibed the idea that the easiest way to carry the whiskey was 
to drink it, so he set to work to see how much he could lighten the weight of 
one of the jugs. 

Now, the more he put inside, the greater the desire to carry it all that 
way. His stomach was, like his appetite for liquor, very capacious. 

At last, feeling more jolly than he had done since he put on Uncle Sam's 
uniform, he started for the camp. He kept up an incessant conversation with 
himself though at times he would hold out the full jug and apostrophize it. 

In crossing the ice he slipped and fell. He held the jug up above his 
head, determined to save that even at the risk of his own life. 

When he gathered himself up and sat on the ice he put his hand up to 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 57 

his face, there was a strange feeling in his nose. He drew his hand away 
quickly, for he fancied his nose was as big as his face. 

"Now that's funny. I never thought of it before. I always thought 
my nose was on my face, but now^ I know my face is attached to my nose." 

So pleased was he with his discovery that he repeated it, and after a 
time got the idea that his head was only a small appendage to his nose. 
Then he stroked the jug affectionately and addressed it as though it were a 
human being. 

"If you hadn't held me up I might have broken my skull," he said, "it 
was good of you, but then I always knew whiskey was a good thing." 

While addressing the jug of spirit he was found by a comrade and taken 
back to camp. 

Every day there were rumors that wooden barracks were to be erected, 
but each night saw the same tents, and after a time no notice was taken of 
the rumors. 

At last there came the news that the Battery was to form part of the 
forces of Gen. Benjamin Franklin Butler, and the spirits of the men 
beat with patriotic pride. They remembered how Butler had been one of 
the very first to raise a regiment and proceed to Washington to save the 
capital. Rugged, erratic, peculiar Butler might be, but every soldier 
loved him. 

On January 8, 1862, Lieut. Porter gave out the news that General 
Butler was going to review the Battery that day. 

What a straightening up of the camp there was! How each man brushed 
his uniform and tried to look like a brave soldier. 

Butler was pleased with the Battery and said many complimentary things 
to the officers. He left and the Battery remained, but only for one 
week more. 

The very day after Gen. Butler reviewed the Battery, the order came 
to prepare to leave camp, and on January 13, the First Connecticut Light 
Battery left Camp Tyler never to return. 



CHAPTER III. 



FROM NEW HAVEN TO PORT ROYAL. 




HOUGH every man in the Battery had been wishing 
for the order to go to the front, yet when on Saturday, 
the eleventh of January, it was definitely known that 
early on Monday the Battery was to march to New 
Haven and there take the steamer for New York, 
the men felt their hearts throb with a new excite- 
ment. 

Leaving their native State, it might be for ever, was a serious matter, 
because it meant parting from wife and mother, from sister and father, from 
the dear girl whose face was imaged on the heart, and that parting might 
be a last farewell, for war was to them a near reality. And yet, those brave 
sweethearts and mothers were proud of the men who had 

" Donned the peerless uniform 
Of good old Uncle Sam." 

Many a noble woman, as she bade the dear one farewell, felt in her 
heart, if she did not utter the words : 

"You're dearer to me than I thought — 

Since in this steadfast hue 
Your form was draped, its impress takes 
A depth such as a hero's makes — 

All hail, my own true blue! 

Prouder am I to see you thus — 

Though it precludes good-bye — 
Than were j'ou crowned perchance a king 
Whose name in action ne'er did ring, 

Whose soul gives fame the lie. 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 59 

Go, save our country ! she is first — 

Stand guard until you fall 
Or till the danger overcome 
Shall respite the alarum drum — 

I will delay recall. 

Go, where along the lurid front 

The Union vanguards tramp! 
Do your whole duty, danger spurn, 
When Freedom's laureled, then return — 

These arms shall be your camp!" 

"Break camp at daybreak !" 

That was the order and each man made his preparations and with 
fluttering heart bade his friends farewell. 

Shortly after it was known through the camp that marching orders had 
come, Rlatchley was missing. 

What did it mean? Could it be that he had grown nervous at the 
thought of going to the front? Not even his worst enemy, if there had been 
one, would have hinted that he was a coward. No, "Sod" was as brave 
as any man in the Battery, but he was missing. 

Sunday at reveille, he did not respond, at roll call he was still absent, 
and at taps his mates mourned his absence. Well for him that discipline 
was still lax or he would have been branded as a deserter. 

On Monday the men were up at half-past three and breakfasted at four. 
There was much to be done, tents to strike, knapsacks to pack, guns and 
caissons to m.ake ready, horses to be groomed and harnessed, and more 
than had entered into the calculations of the officers. 

At roll call on that eventful morning every man, save one, answered to 
his name. The absentee was Blatchley. All his comrades felt sorry, all 
missed him, yet not one would say a word against him except that he was 
foolish to absent himself. 

It was nine o'clock before the order to march was given. With a ring- 
ing cheer the men swung into line and began their march. As they were 
leaving camp, a man was seen running towards them, waving his hands and 
shouting: 

"Am I in time?" 

It was Blatchley. The soft-hearted fellow had tramped to Guilford and 



€0 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

back, twenty-five miles each way, just to bid his mother farewell His love 
of his mother was almost a passion and those who most condemned his 
weakness could never speak against him, because all recognized that a man 
who loved his mother, as he did, must be good at heart. 

It was soon seen that he had imbibed freely during his long tramp and 
had reached a very hilarious condition. Lieut. Seward ordered him to be 
tied to the rear of a baggage wagon and kept there until he had somewhat 
recovered. Then commenced one of the hardest marches ever undertaken 
in the Nutmeg State. The roads were like a sheet of ice, the horses smooth 
shod, the drivers excited and somewhat flurried. Going down hill the horses 
slipped so badly that the carriage wheels had to be chained to keep the guns 
from sliding head off or running into the horses. 

After a mile had been traversed all attempts to maintain order and 
regularity ceased, and the next seventeen miles were covered in a go-as-you- 
please fashion. The cold wind was sharp and cut the faces like glass ; the 
men shivered, their eyelashes were like icicles, their beards were frozen stiff. 
At last the wind moderated a little and the sun tried to shine, giving a silvery 
sheen to the frost-covered trees. 

On nearing New Haven, Lieut. Porter tried to get the Battery into some- 
thing like military order, for it was known that the Governor's Horse Guards 
were to meet the Battery and escort it through the city. 

On Whitney Avenue, the Second Company of the Governor's Horse 
Guards and the Thirteenth Connecticut Infantry, Major Richard Holcomb, 
commanding, awaited the Battery. 

The streets were lined with people, from every house a flag was flying, 
women waved their handkerchiefs, men threw up their hats and shouted 
themselves hoarse, as the Battery marched through the city. 

The cheers were sweet music to those men, their hearts throbbed with 
patriotic pride ; they already felt like heroes. The people gathered around 
them and made them realize that the State bade them "Godspeed." 

They might be only raw recruits, their horses, after that long march, 
might not look like the well-groomed steeds of the Guards ; the discipline 
might not be as perfect as that of trained soldiers ; but what mattered those 
details? The people recognized that they were offering themselves willingly 
to save the Nation. 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 61 

The New Haven Journal and Courier, under date of January 14, 1862, 

had the following account of the entry into and march through the Elm City: 

The announcement that the First Connecticut Light Battery would ar- 
rive here yesterday afternoon to take passage to New York drew out an 
unexpectedly large crowd of spectators and friends, as the Battery was very 
largely filled from this vicinity. Hundreds of people from the country were 
in town to participate in the last good-bye. The Battery took up its march 
from Meriden at nine in the morning, escorted by Major Lyon and eight or 
ten of the other officers of the cavalry corps, and about the same number of 
the privates. The Battery marched at the rate of three miles an hour, and 
the cavalry officers soon concluded that the best way would be to gallop into 
New Haven in advance, take dinner at the New Haven Hotel and be ready 
to do escort duty with full stomachs and fresh horses. The Second Gover- 
nor's Horse Guards, Major Ingersoll, and the recruits for the Thirteenth C.V., 
under Major Holcomb, turned out at about half- past two o'clock, and on the 
announcement of the approach of the Battery proceeded out to Whitney ave. 
to receive it. It was not a mile from the city, and the usual courtesies were 
exchanged, after which the line of march was taken up through the city 
amid crowds of people who lined the sidewalks. Adjt. Gen'l Williams, 
Q. M. Genl Aiken and Asst. Q. M. Gen'l Foster, Q. M. Gen'l Bunce and 
Ex. Q. M. Gen'l Prince were in the escort. The display was a fine one, and 
was witnessed by thousands of spectators, whose hopes and prayers went 
with the gallant soldiers who responded to the call of their country. The 
appearance of the Battery was a gratifying one in reference to material and 
equipment. The carriages for the two Parrott twelve-pounders were vacant, 
the guns being not ready, but in every other respect they were thoroughly 
provided for. The horses indeed were not very fine specimens of the best 
breeds of our own State, nor was their grooming such as to set them off to 
the best advantage, but with a few exceptions they looked like good strong- 
workers, and capable of being trained into efficient animals. It must be re- 
marked that the Battery has had no instruction in its peculiar duties, and 
that its excellent appearance is due to the unaided efforts of inexperienced 
officers. With this fact in mind those who saw it cannot but be highly grati- 
fied with the success it has achieved, as well as being satisfied with the sub- 
stantial character of its men, and their thorough outfit. The Battery was 
escorted through some of the principal streets to the New York steamboat 
wharf, where it embarked on the Elm City for Governor's Island. 

Arrived at Belle Dock, the Battery embarked on the steamer Elm City. 
The horses were not unharnessed but were crowded on the main deck, 
standing close together, each alternate horse having his head in the opposite 
direction. 

Those of the comrades who had friends in the city were allowed a few 
hours' furlough, while those who were strangers did duty on board. 

Late in the evening. Comrade Hart Landon, who was on guard duty on 
the deck, saw a guard of soldiers approaching with some one under arrest. 



62 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

As they drew nearer it was seen that the prisoner was dear old " Sod," who 
had once more succumbed to the enemy and been rescued by some friendly 
comrades, who would not leave him until he was safely on board. 

"That's the last we shall see of 'Sod,'" exclaimed a Guilford man as 
Blatchle)^ was taken on board ; but his prediction did not prove to be a true 
one. 

It was nearly midnight before the Elm City left the dock for New York. 
When it came to guard duty it was found that very few were fitted to 
have the care of horses crowded into such close quarters. The lack of dis- 
cipline, the friendly visits paid in the city and the many good things to which 
some of the comrades had been treated so hospitably, rendered many unfit. 
There was no one who seemed to have authority to relieve the guard, and 
the comrades first assigned to that duty might have been compelled to stand 
guard all night, or desert their post, which would have been punishable by 
arrest, only for an accident. The horses were packed so close together that 
the guard could only get around by climbing over their backs or under their 
bellies. 

Some of the horses got tangled up in their harness and fell down. The 
first and most natural thing for a horse to do under such circumstances is to 
kick. One of the horses made such vigorous use of his steel-shod heels that 
he kicked a hole through a thin partition which divided the deck from the 
store room. One of the guards, while trying to get the horse up and at the 
same time keep the other horses from stamping him to death, crawled near 
the hole and accidentally peeped through. 

"I'm glad I'm on guard," he thought, as he looked again. No "Peep- 
ing Tom" of Coventry was ever more incjuisitive than that comrade, and 
after getting the horse on his feet, he used his strength to make that hole 
larger, and then crawled through, forgetful of his duty. He feasted his 
eyes on wine, whiskey, brandy and all sorts of liquors. It did not take long 
to fill his canteen. His comrade was curious also, but being a temperance 
man the bottles of spirit had no allurements for him. 

By some telepathic means the men below learned of the precious find, 
and there was no further difficulty in getting relieved from guard duty the 
balance of the night. The most disagreeable duty became the one most 
sought after, and a merrier lot of men could not be found than those who had 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861-1865 63 

been on guard during the night. The canteens were filled, and every man, 
who was not strictly a temperance man, had drank as much as he could 
carry. Fortunately for the Battery the great majority were men of sterling 
temperance principles. 

Lieut. Porter was furious, he stamped about the deck and worried him- 
self nearly silly in the endeavor to find out how the men had been able to 
smuggle so much liquor on board. He examined the canteens, and as he 
looked into the face of each man, asked: 

"Where did you get it? " 

The comrade saluted and answered without any hesitation : 

"Bought it, sir!" 

Not until the Elm City was unloaded was the secret discovered, and 
the owners made an affidavit that five hundred dollars' worth of liquors and 
stores had disappeared during that one night on the Sound. The Govern- 
ment had to pay the bill, though many very angry letters passed between 
the parties before a settlement was effected. 

The Elm City arrived at its dock, Peck Slip, at about half-past five in 
the morning, but no one was allowed to land. Two hours later the Captain 
gave orders to steam to Governor's Island and there to drop anchor, not 
near enough for any of the men to land, for it was feared some might take 
" French leave " if they got the chance. The Captain went on shore to 
see the Commandant and found that the Battery horses could not be 
accommodated on the Island and were to be taken to stables at East 24th 
street. 

Whether the Captain misunderstood or whether Lieut. Porter was 
to blame will never be clearly known, but a mistake was made, and the 
Elm City steamed up the North River, and men and horses disembarked 
at West 22d street, only to find that the stables were at 24th street, East 
River. 

Nothing could be done but march across the city with guns and wagons 
and all the equipments of war. The people cheered the Battery, though 
many of the comrades still wonder why they did, for neither officers nor 
men looked very slick or soldier-like after an unpleasant night on the 
steamer. 



64 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

The officers tried to be correct in their mihtary bearing, but they had 
not slept much and they were not in good condition, while a number of the 
men had filled their canteens too often from the ship's stores and those who 
were not exceedingly lively had headache, heavy eyes and unsteady feet, 
though to the credit of the Battery, be it said, the majority had resisted 
temptation and they saw that nothing should be done to bring disgrace on 
the service or a blot on the history of the State they loved. Every one 
acknowledged that a finer body of intelligent citizens had never been 
recruited than those composing the First Light Battery Connecticut 
Volunteers. 

The horses were stabled, the guns housed and the march down town 
commenced. The men were to be quartered at the Park Barracks, in front 
of the City Hall, on the site of the present New York Post Office. It was 
late in the day before the barracks were reached, and every man was ready 
for his supper. The soup tasted good and was thoroughly enjoyed by the 
comrades, who had fasted nearly all day. 

There was no guard duty at the barracks, every man having full 
liberty to go as he pleased and do what he liked, and it was rather surprising 
that no one took advantage of the freedom, even Blatchley realized that his 
honor was at stake and behaved splendidly. 

The men went round and saw the sights. Barnum was showing some 
wonderful things at his Museum, and those who could spare the money 
patronized the show. In a great tank Barnum had a living whale, fifteen 
feet long, and in a cage, not far off, was the big bear which had dis- 
tinguished itself by killing a hunter known as " Grisler " Adams. Then 
there was the hippopotamus and other animals, and a giantess only eighteen 
years old, but weighing 426 pounds. In the iMuseum theatre a play 
entitled "Oneida" was performed, and a comrade wrote in his diary: " It was 
the best play I had ever seen — twenty-eight girls on the stage at one time, 
all dressed in the most splendid style." Then Laura Keene was in town 
playing "Our American Cousin," with Sothern, who afterwards became so 
famous in the then small part of Lord Dundreary. Bryant's Minstrels also 
came in for a fair share of patronage from the citizens of the Nutmeg State, 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 67 

On the twenty-first of January a most important event happened. 
After breakfast every man was ordered to put on his dress coat and be 
ready to receive the new Captain. 

Everyone wondered what he would be like. Up to that time soldiering 
had been a sort of a go-as-you-please game, for it could not have been other- 
wise seeing that the officers were as ignorant of army discipline as the men. 
Gov. Buckingham's choice had fallen on Alfred P. Rockwell, of 
Norwich, Conn., son of ex-Congressman John A. Rockwell. Capt. Rock- 
well was twenty-seven years old when he was appointed to the command 
of the First Light Battery. His military knowledge and experience had 
been gained during some months spent in the regular artillery camp (Camp 
Duncan), on the plain east of the Capitol at Washington. Provided by 
Gov. Buckingham with a nominal commission, without pay, as Second 
Lieutenant of the Second Light Battery (not organized at that time), he 
went to Washington to learn his new trade. Gen. Barry assigned him for 
duty, temporarily attached to Capt. Tidball's battery of regulars. Here he 
served, making good use of his opportunities, till he was given the com- 
mand of the First Light Battery. Capt. Rockwell was highly educated, 
a student of rare acquirements, and so well versed in the theory of 
artillery practice that he often attempted the impossible in trying to carry 
out the precepts of the books. 

What did the Captain think of his new command? What did the men 
think of him ? 

Capt. Rockwell says he was most seriously impressed with a knowledge 
of his own inexperience in the grave responsibilities of that untried position. 
He saw that the men were untrained and undisciplined, but his experience 
with regular batteries caused him to recognize at once that the members 
of the P'irst Light Battery were their superiors in every other respect, and 
later he acknowledged that they had won his respect and regard by their 
character and soldierly qualities. 

On the uniform supplied to the Battery, there was one thing which at- 
tracted the attention of the new Captain. Down the outer seam of the 
trouser leg ran a small red cord. Alas, it was the same size and color as 
that worn by the officers. Such a thing would never do, it must be removed, 
and when the Captain deigned to speak to his new command it was to give 



68 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

the order to take off that red cord. In the memory the most trival things 
often live longest, and while many of the weightier events have passed from 
the minds of the comrades who are living to-day, there is not one who can- 
not recall, without hesitation, that first order given by Capt. Rockwell : 
"Remove that red cord ! " 

While the Battery was located at the Park Barracks, either the atmos- 
phere or the Croton water disagreed with many of the comrades and the 
doctor was called on frequently. The army doctor stationed there was a 
pompous individual who seemed to think his duty consisted in ordering 
everyone to go to his assistant, for he rarely prescribed himself, unless an 
officer was his patient. In ordering the comrade to go to his assistant he 
would assume an attitude of importance and act as though he were the 
general commanding the district. 

The assistant would inquire the symptoms, but before the trembling 
soldier could half reply he was given a big dose of syrup of squills. A man 
might be doubled up with a cramp, or suffering from neuralgia, he was sure 
to be given a dose of squills ; if he had diarrhoea, he got squills ; if his 
trouble was constipation, still the medicine was the same. Headaches, blis- 
tered feet and corns, stomach-ache and weakness of the back, cold in the 
head, or rheumatism in the legs, it made no difference, a dose of squills was 
the universal panacea. 

The Battery surgeon. Dr. Hurlbut, had a very observant colored ser- 
vant, who acted as hospital steward. This wide-awake colored boy saw the 
marvelous cures wrought by the wonderful contents of the black bottle, and 
he thought that some of the glory and credit might be his if he acted right- 
ly. He got a big black bottle — it had to be black, perhaps he thought there 
was magic in the color — and filled it from the hospital stores with syrup of 
squills. With this bottle in his hand he would go around among the com- 
rades asking if they didn't feel badly. His voice was sympathetic, but his 
manner was determined, for he insisted that each one should have his dose 
of squills, and if he were not sick, why still a dose of squills might prevent 
ailment. 

A large packet ship of the Black Ball line, the Ellwood Walter, Capt. 
Chadwick, of Lyme, had been chartered to take the Battery to Port Royal, 
South Carolina. There was much to be done before the ship was ready for 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 71 

the troops. Berths had to be built, stalls made between decks and guns 
and ammunition loaded. 

The lumber put on board was covered with ice, it had been exposed to 
the frost and snow of that inclement season ; but out of this frozen lumber 
bunks had to be made and the comrades had to thaw it out with the warmth 
of their bodies. 

Several days were occupied in loading the guns and caissons, so that they 
might stand the voyage, and the ammunition in the least likely place for a 
shot from the enemy to reach it. Then there were a hundred and sixty horses 
to be hoisted on board and lowered between decks. The horse was run into 
a crate, which was then hoisted by hand power by a rope and pulley block 
fixed to the yard, the yard was swung around and the crate lowered to the 
lower deck, where it was opened and the horse driven out. When the horses 
were all on board, the personal belongings of the men stored away, berths 
were apportioned and all the details of guard duty arranged, and the ship 
was ready to sail. 

On the evening of the 23d of January the men slept on board the 
Ellwood Walter for the first time, in bunks whose boards were still ice 
covered, and on Friday morning at twenty minutes to eleven the order 
was given to draw in the gangplank, let go the ropes, and amid the 
cheers of a large crowd on the dock the ship floated out into the stream, 
being towed by the tug "Commodore Vanderbilt" into the waters of New 
York bay. When off Staten Island the Captain decided that it would be 
unsafe to venture out while such a gale was blowing, so the ship anchored 
and all hands were summoned to dinner, and such a dinner! The Govern- 
ment had contracted for the best food, but it had neglected to provide a 
cook, and the ship's cook was the worst that ever boiled a mess of beans or 
roasted a joint. Within sound of the sunset gun at the headquarters of the 
Army of the Atlantic coast, the men who had lived well at home, had been 
fed on dainties at Camp Tyler, petted and pampered somewhat by their 
indulgent friends, sat down to a dinner of bacon. From good living to army 
rations was a shock to sensitive stomachs, and though the men learned to 
laugh at "contractors' bacon" in later days, they then thought it fit for 
nothing else but to be used as grease for their shoes. 



72 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

When the roll was called four men did not answer to their names: 
Bradley Barlow, artificer, who later returned to the Battery; Welcome E. 
Watson, who disgraced his name and family by deserting ; Henry Smith and 
" Sod" Blatchley. These two latter were known to be on board, Blatchley 
being unable to get on deck because of a final stimulant he had taken before 
going on board, and Smith, who was sleeping off the effects of a debauch. 
Lieut. Seward sent for Smith, but he refused to obey the command; then the 
Lieutenant, not wanting to have anyone punished, went down himself and 
caught hold of Smith's arm to drag him out of his bunk. Smith became 
ugly and struck viciously at his superior; Lieut. Seward seized a barrel cover 
and dealt the recalcitrant a clip in the side, saving himself from getting a 
black eye With real good heartedness the officer did not order Smith under 
arrest but allowed the attempted assault to go unpunished. 

The gale increased in fury and the Ell wood Walter dragged her anchor 
and fouled with the ship Autocrat. The troop ship was considerably 
damaged, the spanker boom was broken, the cabin windows stove in and the 
small boats smashed into splinters. A steam tug worked all the morning 
trying to separate the two ships, and only by severing the anchor chain could 
it be effected. On Sunday it was resolved to try and obtain the lost anchor, 
but a new trouble arose. The ship's men refuse to work on Sunday unless 
they had an extra ration of grog. In vain the Captain pleaded with them, 
telling them that the ship was chartered by the Government and that they 
were liable to punishment. They snapped their fingers at him and positively 
refused to make one move without the grog. The men won, the grog was 
served out, and before night the anchor was recovered. 

"We shall have nothing but trouble this voyage," said one of the 
comrades. 

"What makes you say that ? " 

"We started on a Friday, and who ever knew any good luck follow 
such an action ? " 

Very few were superstitious, so they laughed at the idea, but the 
comrade muttered under his breath: 

" Laugh if you like, but we shall see who is right." 

As though the prophecy was to be fulfilled, another trouble delayed the 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861-1865 73 

ship for a time. Capt. Rockwell was taken sick and had to be put ashore 
on Staten Island. 

In a strong northwest wind the Elhvood Walter poked its nose out to 
sea at half-past five on Monday morning, leaving the tug and pilot about 
three miles out, and with sails spread the good ship, one of the largest of its 
kind afloat, started on its long voyage. 

"With a wind like this we shall reach Port Royal in four days," the 
Captain said, and the men were all excitement at the thought. Some who 
knew that only seven days' rations had been served out, hoped the Captain 
was right, for three days had already passed and no more food had been 
taken on board. 

Very few of the men had ever been on a full-rigged ship, and still 
fewer had been on the ocean. To them it was a grand sight to see the 
full-spread sails and to hear the rattling of the ropes. For two days but 
little headway was made, the wind was very high and the Captain was 
afraid to spread too much canvas. 

On the third day out the weather was almost sultry, comrades were on 
deck in thin jackets, smoking, playing cards and reading, but before night- 
fall the wind began to blow and the ship to toss in such an unpleasant man- 
ner that those who had been smoking threw their pipes overboard and 
crawled down stairs. The non-commissioned ofHcers were put in a room 
together, and that night they all became very sick ; they had given away their 
tobacco, the smell of the smoke nauseated them, and several made a vow 
that if only they reached land again they would never smoke — oh, no, never 
again. The accommodations on board were of the poorest kind; one instance 
will sufifice to show how badly the ship's owners had prepared to cater to the 
wants of the heroic men who were going to fight to save the nation. Al- 
though there were twelve non-comissioned officers in one room, there was 
but one pail, and so when one was sick and used the pail he would pass 
it to the next, and so on. It can easily be understood how conducive to 
health such a procedure must be. 

When off Cape Hatteras a litttle cloud was seen in the direction of land. 
Orders were given for the clewing of sails, and it was done none too quickly. 
As the wind struck the ship the horses in trying to keep their feet, made a 
noise like thunder. It was feared that they might get loose and roll to one 



74 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

side of the ship, which would surely have caused her to capsize. Volunteers 
were called for to help the sailors make the stalls more secure, but few were 
able to respond to the call, as several were suffering from black measles and 
some with horse distemper, while others were so frightened that they could 
not stir; those on deck clung to something that was stationary or to one 
another. Some were huddled in the centre of a coil of rope on top of the 
boatswain's quarters, and came near being carried overboard as a sea sent 
the rope sliding overboard, Comrade Edwin S. Bailey being saved only by 
landing astride the rail. 

The comrades were poor sailors, only about twelve escaping seasickness, 
and these men had to perform all the duties of attending to the horses, 
nursing the sick and all the other details of a military life on board ship. 
Conspicious among those not sick during the voyage were Comrades John T. 
Sloan, Edwin O. Blatchley, George Durgin, Mark Hall, Titus Hall, Henry 
Smith, Charles W. Gesner, Wm. M. Fowler and Geo. Penhallow. 

Comrade Seward pays this tribute to the imselfish labors of Comrade 
Blatchley on board the Elwood Walter: 

"On the passage down to Hilton Head on the Elwood Walter, which 
was very rough and stormy, ' Sod,' having followed the sea, did not suffer 
from seasickness, and showed his usefulness by actually doing ten men's 
work during the entire voyage. While at the start many of the comrades 
rather wished he was not going, his kind ministrations to both men and 
horses gave them a glimpse of his big heartedness, and from that time on 
he was beloved by the entire command. Born in the same town, I had 
known him from childhood up, and before I was fifteen years old I knew 
what a kindly big heart was encased in that uncouth frame." 

The horses had to be fed and watered every day, and comrades who 
were not sick were detailed for this duty. All the horses had distemper, 
and the smell between the decks, where they were confined, was something 
too horrible for description, the only fresh air reaching them was pumped 
in by means of a small wind sail. Very few of the comrades had stomachs 
strong enough to stand this foul atmosphere, 'and several got horse-distemper 
and other diseases. 

The horses suffered frightfully, they were all in a lather during a storm, 
and each morning some were found dead. It was necessary that the dead 



f^^^-^^-'^WWi 




FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861-1865 77 

carcases should be thrown overboard, but how to get them up was a difficult 
problem. Mark Halh who had been a butcher, suggested that the horses' 
legs should be cut ofE and then the bodies could be hauled up. Comrades 
Titus Hall, Henry Smith, John T. Sloan, Blatchley, Mark Hall and Geo. 
W. Penhallow did most of the work. It was a ghastly sight to see Comrade 
Hall balancing himself as well as he could while he swung a sharp axe and 
severed the legs from the bodies of the dead horses. 

"Those days and nights will never be forgotten by the living members 
of the Battery. When the storm abated, and the Captain told us that we 
had nearly crossed the ocean, our ship was again headed for Port Royal, 
and volunteers were plenty to help the sailors pull on any so-called Port 
Royal ropes," wrote Comrade Griswold in his reminiscences of the Battery. 
"But what a condition of things! Thirteen horses had been killed and had 
to be hoisted overboard. Many of the men in the forecastle lay as still as if 
dead. It made anyone sick to go near the hatches or stairway. The doctor 
and the writer (Comrade Griswold) undertook to care for the sick, but the 
attempt to go down those stairs would have to be made many times before 
we succeeded. Finally, all were brought on deck; those with the black 
measles were placed in the boatswain's quarters, and for days it was 
impossible to get a word or smile from some of them." So w^rote one 
of the observant members of the Battery. Is it any wonder that Comrade 
Talmadge should have written in his diary (which he kindly placed at the 
disposal of the Editor), "Everyone Avas seasick, officers and all. The sor- 
riest looking crowd that was ever seen, I as bad as the rest. All were talk- 
ing of home and wishing they had stayed there." 

While Dr Hurlbut and Comrade Griswold were attending the sick in 
the hold, Comrade William M. Fowler was in charge of the six comrades 
who were suffering from black measles and other contagious diseases in the 
boatswain's quarters. Comrade Fowler declares that from the day he took 
charge to the very end of the voyage he neither saw the doctor nor received 
any medicines, but was left to depend on his own knowledge and the use of 
water and a small piece of lemon given by one of the sailors, instead of 
suitable drugs. Doubtless the doctor was himself suffering from the 
offensive atmosphere of the hold, and was unable to render any assistance. 
Comrade Fowler was an able nurse; his loving attention was constant; he 




78 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

moistened the parched lips and bathed the fevered forehead ; he was soft 

and gentle as a woman, and never once did a murmur escape him, though 

in one instance his life was in great danger. 

A comrade was sick with typhoid fever, and in the last stage of the 

fever became very delirious. Comrade Wm. M, Fowler had hung up his 

side arms, consisting of a pistol and a two- 
edged sword, commonly called a "toad- 
sticker." The comrade, weary with watch- 
in »• fell asleep and was awakened by 

"TOADSTICKER." 

hearing a noise. He looked up and saw 
the delirious fever-stricken comrade standing over him, his eyes glaring 
wildly, flourishing the savage-looking toadsticker over his head, as if 
about to cut it off. Only by prompt action and presence of mind was the 
weapon taken away from the sick man, who had evidently taken advantage 
of the comrade's sleep to secure the weapon. 

Until the end of the voyage Comrade Fowler dare not go to sleep, for 
no sooner did he close his eyes than he was again roused by the mad fever- 
striken patient, whose stare seemed to pierce to the very soul of the 
drowsy nurse. 

One night the steamer Atlantic was sighted and the Ellwood Walter 
fired a signal gun. Instead of answering, the Atlantic put out all her lights 
and turned on all the steam possible, thinking that the shot had been fired 
by a Confederate privateer. 

" How did you occupy your time on the Ellwood Walter?" Comrade 
Henry S. Lawrence was asked, and he characteristically answered, "The 
most of my time was taken up in throwing dead horses and the contents 
of my stomach overboard." 

Another comrade says: "We were the greatest lot of sailors that ever 
went to sea. Our horses were between decks, and one of these, a little 
mare, was known as the 'Cheerful Kicker.' Every lunge that the vessel 
would give caused her to squeal and kick around, I remember how at every 
roll of the ship, Comrade Frank Thompson would say: 'There we go. Pa,' 
and 'We shall never see Ma again, shall we Pa ?' After that we always called 
our comrade, 'Pa Thompson.' " 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 79 

Rations were beginning to run short just as the appetites of the 
comrades grew healthier. Water was also very low, the barrels being nearly 
emptied. Comrades suffered from the shortness of sugar, coffee and water; 
the beans, old and sprouted; the rice, which was of the poorest quality, and 
the bacon lasted very well, but were made almost unfit for food by the bad 
cooking of the ship's cook. 

One day a comrade was going past the cook's galley and smelled some 
biscuits that reminded him of home. There were a lot cooked for the 
officers. Meeting "Sod "he said: 

"Here is a chance to get some of those biscuits. I will divert the cook's 
attention." 

The cook had just taken a full pan of them from the oven and put them 
down near the door. The comrade on the opposite side of the galley called 
the cook's attention to something, while ' * Sod " reached out and took two big 
tins filled with hot biscuits. The tins were only just out of the oven, and it 
was a wonder how "Sod" could hold them, but he succeeded in getting 
them below, and a number of the comrades had hot biscuits for supper that 
night. The cook never found out who had taken them, and he had to go to 
work and make more for the officers. 

For the benefit of the officers a quarter of fresh beef had been provided, 
and it was hung up in the rigging of the ship. Each day Comrades Sloan 
and Blatchley would manage to cut big slices from it until it got too "high ' 
for their tastes. The officers were all too sick to eat it, or the comrades who 
helped themselves so liberally without orders might have been severely 
punished for stealing and otherwise behaving in a manner prejudicial to 
good discipline and unbecoming privates toward their superior officers. 

While the Battery was in New York a comrade, Andrew H. Turner, 
received a present of a bottle of bay rum from a captain trading with the 
West Indies. He stored it in his bunk, and every day his friends would 
go down and take a sniff of the rum. One day the bottle was missing. 
His heart was nearly broken, and he tried to find who had been guilty of 
the theft, but in vain. It was evident that some comrade had imagined 
that it was good to drink, and had taken it for that purpose. 

While pumping water from the barrels in the hold of the ship for the 
horses, part of the detail occupied the time skirmishing round for food that 



80 



HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 



had been stored in the hold and consigned to sutlers, traders and officers. 
They found cheese, dried apples and jellies. Small augers were used to 
bore into boxes and barrels to find if they contained food. The hold was as 
dark as the darkest midnight and candles and matches were the only light 
obtainable. One comrade would hold a light while another bored the 
holes. On one occasion the comrade bored into a barrel of powder, and as 
his comrade was about to examine the contents, the one who was using the 
auger exclaimed in an excited manner: 
"Jesus Christ, it's powder! " 

In another moment the ship might have been blown up. After that 
they were a little more careful about the light and examined the boxes and 
barrels with great caution. After extracting the contents of the barrels 
they put the heads in again very nicely, and not until the one to whom they 
were consigned opened them was it known that they had been tampered with. 
Two days before landing a gun was got up on deck for signal purposes. 
The deck was slippery and the weather foggy. Many thought the enemy 
had been sighted and the gun was to repel any attack. All were ex- 
cited. Many did not relish a fight on the deck of a ship, but in war every- 
thing had to be taken as it came. The first man in the Battery to be wound- 
ed was Sergeant Grow, who, in mounting cannon 
on that occasion, had his finger tip cut off. Com- 
rade Grow later applied for a pension but it was 
not granted. 

On the morning of Februar}- the 4th Port 
Royal was sighted, and a number of shots were 
fired from the deck signalling those on shore. A 
steamer was seen making towards the Ellwood 
Walter. The captain knew that it was friendly 
and called out: 

' ' Stand by to take a tow line to Hilton Head. " 
As the steamer approached it was seen to be 
a United States gunboat, and accompanying it was 
the U. S. frigate Wabash, which had gone out of 
the harbor to meet and welcome the incoming 
Ellwood Walter and the First Connecticut Light Batter}'. 




HENRY GROW, 
of Meriden. 
Enlisted Oct. 8. iS6i, mustered 
Sergt.; promoted Q. M. Sergt. 
May 5, 1863; re-enlisted Vet. Dec. 
iQ, 1863; promoted Dec. 20, 1864; 
mustered out June II, 1865. 




< 

o 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 



83 



Althouo-h the men had endured the miseries of eleven days on the 
stormy seas, with the attendant horrors of seasickness and short rations, 
they sent up a cheer in answer to the salute of the Wabash. The sight of 
land was one of the most glorious that could be imagined. 

By seven o'clock that evening the Ell wood Walter was at anchor off 
Hilton Head, surrounded by a hundred boats of all sorts and sizes, fifty be- 
ing gunboats, some armed tugs and several men-of-war. 

It was pleasant to be in the calm waters of the harbor and all the com- 
rades highly appreciated the change. 

In the morning the officers went ashore and reported to General 
Hunter, and on their return the company clerk brought on board a small 
piece of smoked beef. The comrades gathered around him, each anxious to 
have a taste of wholesome food once more. The clerk cut the beef into 
small pieces and there was a regular scramble to obtain a piece of the dainty. 
In the afternoon the Ellwood Walter was towed by the steamer Ben De 
Ford up the river to Beaufort, a distance of fifteen miles. 

Just after reaching the anchorage opposite 
Beaufort the first death in the Battery occurred. 
Comrade Henry B. Bullard, of Guilford, who had 
been sick with typhoid fever for a week, suc- 
cumbed, and his comrades found him a resting 
place under some giant yellow pines just outside 
the city. 

It was with heavy hearts that the comrades 
set about the task of burying their dead brother. 
Not one but wondered how soon new graves might 
have to be made, and those who were then 
engaged in the solemn duty might be the next to 
be laid imder the sod. It was not Comrade 
Bullard's fortune to fight under the flag of his 
country, he died of disease, not from an enemy's 
bullet, but his heroism was the same. He had died for his country ; he had 

given his life for his flag : 

" His hands were folded on his breast , 
There is no other thing expressed. 
But long disquiet merged in rest." 




HENRY B. BULLARD, 
of New Haven, Conn. 

Enlisted Oct. i6, 1861 ; mustered 
in Nov. 2, 1S61 ; died of disease 
contracted on Ellwood Walter, 
Feb. 6, 1862; buried Beaufort, S. C. 



84 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

Had he lived he would have brought no discredit on old Connecticut's 
flag; in the thickest of the fight, in the miseries of camp life, in all the hard- 
ships to be endured, he would have been at his post a worthy comrade, a 
brave man, a good citizen. And in his far-off grave beneath the pines he 
was not forgotten by his comrades, who prayed oft: 

" Let angels spread their wings above ; 
Let flowers forever bloom ; 
Let bays, green bays, spring forth to mark 
Our Comrade's sacred tomb." 




ON PICKET— BEAUFORT 



CHAPTER IV. 



EARLY CAMP LIFE IN BEAUFORT. 




HAT a relief it was to see land after such a hard time 
on the ocean. To men who had so recently left the 
ice and snow of the North, whose last glimpse of land 
was the snow-covered hills of Staten Island, it was a 
strange sight ; almost like a fairy dream to see roses 
in bloom, flowers in all the glory of their summer 
beauty, palms lifting their heads into the clouds, 
oranges still hanging on the trees; to hear the birds singing, and find a land 
of gayety instead of gloom. 

Although Beaufort was one of the principal shipping points in the 
South, and the water deep enough for any ocean-going ship, yet there were 
no docks, so the Ellwood Walter had to be unloaded, as was the custom 
there, by means of flatboats. What a work it was! Horses, guns and 
ammunition had to be hoisted out of the hold, swung over the side of the 
ship and lowered into a flatboat. 

The work had to be faced, no matter how unpleasant, but it was too 
late to start on the evening the Ellwood Walter anchored off the town. 

" Our quarters barely fit for hogs, our rations no better," writes Com- 
rade Hotchkiss in his diary, "we yet had to endure another night on 
board." 

One comrade got permission to go ashore, and in an hour he returned 
with some soft bread. Never did anyone appreciate bread more than did 
those half-starved comrades that night; even the misery of another night 
could be forgotten in the joyful repast. As they ate their bread, so good 
after the hard biscuit served on the ship, they watched the sunset and many 



86 



HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 



became almost poetical. It was the first time many of them had seen a 
Southern setting of the sun. 

In the early morning the work of disembarking commenced, and for an 
hour the men worked as well as their physical condition permitted. For 
eleven days most of them had been sick, confined to close quarters, and half 
fed on regular army rations, which were nearly spoiled by the poor cooking 
of the ship's cook. It was not to be wondered at that the men were 
dispirited and foimd work a great hardship. At the end of the first hour 
every man refused to work until eatable food was provided. 

The officers threatened to hav^e the leaders arrested for mutiny, but 
there were no leaders; the men acted together, and elected Comrade 

Bissell to lay their grievance before Lieut. 
Porter. No comrade had greater influence with 
the Lieutenant than Warren Bissell, and therefore 
the choice was a wise one. The representative of 
the Battery told the officer that it was impossible 
to proceed with the unloading until some good 
and palatable food was supplied; the officer told 
the comrade that soldiers must obey without 
question, and that to refuse to obey orders was 
mutiny, and as they were in the enemy's country 
mutiny was punishable by death. "Then you 
will have to shoot every man in the Battery," was 
Comrade Bissell's reply. 

"Go back, Bissell, and tell the men to go to 
work at once or every man shall be placed under 
arrest." 

Comrade Bissell returned and delivered his message, but before any 
action could be taken the kind-hearted officer had sent a quantity of corned 
beef on board. 

The mutiny was ended and the men proceeded with the work of dis- 
embarking. 

The men not needed for the actual work were sent on shore, and some 
were detailed to unload the flatboats as fast as they were sent off from 
the ship. 




WARREN H. BISSELL, 
of Hebron. 
Enlisted Oct. 3, 1861; mustered 
in Oct. 26, 1861 ; elected Corpo- 
ral ; discharged Oct. 25, 1864, 
time expired. 




CJ 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 



89 



The guns, caissons and limbers were taken off first, the horses being 
left till these were on land. 

On the following morning the horses were to be landed. It was likely 
to be a slow process, for to hoist a hundred and fifty or more horses from 
the hold and lower them to a flatboat where they would have to be secured 
would be a work of time. The ready wit of Lieut. Porter came to the rescue. 

"Hoist them to the upper deck and throw them overboard," was 
his order. 

Men were stationed along the shore to look out for the horses and 
capture them as they landed, and then the work commenced. All day the 
exhausted horses were being hoisted up one by one and thrown into Beau- 
fort River. The water was warm, the animals feverish and many a poor 
horse swam about enjoying the pleasant bath for a long time before he 
would seek land. It was a novel method of landing them, but proved an 
excellent one. 

There were about a hundred and forty horses belonging to the Battery 
and thirty which had been sent down for the First Massachusetts Cavalry. 

The enjoyment of the horses was contagious, for before nightfall nearly 
every man of the Battery had plunged into the water and had a good swim. 



^ --S^i 



^^ 




"Got any pies, Auntie?" 



Those of the comrades who had no work allotted amused themselves by 
visiting the houses which had been deserted by their owners. Others 
explored the negro quarters in search of food. Comrade Griswold wrote: 



90 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

"The Company Clerk and myself started out to see if we could buy something 
at the negro houses. He had two cents and I had three. We stopped at the 
first hut, and the 'auntie' told us she would sell us something to eat. We 
showed her what money we had ; she kicked the young 'nigs' right and left 
and brought out the hoecake and molasses. We ate all she had, picking the 
darky wool out of our mouths as we ate." 

Comrade Tallmadge wrote in his diary : ' ' Had most of the day to myself, 
improved it by going over the deserted houses gathering relics. The houses 
are splendid as any I ever saw. Doors wide open for any one to enter when 
they please. They have been woefully defaced. Slept last night in the 
residence of Dr. Johnson, now Lieut. Johnson of the Rebel army, and 
brother of Col. Johnson who was killed at the battle of Bull Run. The 
house is a splendid four-story brick building, having all the most modern 
improvements and styles of finish." 

Comrade John T. Sloan, writing of his first experience of Beaufort, says: 

"Beaufort, S. C. was an aristocratic summer resort for the people of 
Charleston, and consisted of a few mansions, mostly with fine grounds, and 
a few small houses for the negro servants, the larger part of the negroes 
living on the plantations. Some of the objects of interest to us Yankees, 
were the Arsenal, a building like the block houses of the early times in 
New England for the assembling of the people in case of any rising of the 
slaves, so arranged that people could stand on the roof, and, while being 
protected by walls which were carried several feet higher than the roof, 
shoot any enemy who approached — this was surrounded by a wall, built of 
adobe, and probably ten feet high, with slats so arranged that those inside 
would have fair cover while firing at those outside. 

"An old Episcopal chapel within a small cemetery, some of the grave- 
stones dating back to the middle of the eighteenth century. In this chapel 
services were held on Sundays, presided over by the chaplains of the 
different organizations — and at one time meetings were held of a debating 
club, the members coming from every regiment on the island. Many 
important subjects were finally settled at the meetings of this club, and some 
of the comrades there took the first lessons in debating, and have since 
shown that they were able to hold their own in various legislative bodies. 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861-1865 



93 



"Another building was the Rhett House, in which was written the 
resolution by which South Carolina tried to withdraw from the Union. All 
the houses were built with a high basement, so arranged that the servants 
used the basement door to go in and out, while the family entered by a stair- 
way to the second floor. In looking over the houses, on our first arrival in 
Beaufort, we learned much of the custom from letters which were left in a 
hasty removal. One thing was common among these papers, and that was a 
pass so that the slaves might be out after dark." 




RHETT HOUSE, BEAUFORT, S. C, 

In which was drafted the original ordinance of Secession, 

adopted at the Charleston Convention, Dec. 20, i860. 



When the Union soldiers captured Beaufort the white residents hurried 
away as fast as though the plague had broken out. Many good stories were 
told of the way in which the " real old Carolina gentlemen " stood not on 
the order of their going, but fell over each other in their haste to escape. 
One leading citizen, however, having tried to keep up his courage by imbib- 



94 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

ing freely, stayed behind, and some of his friends wondered what would be 
his fate, A poet wearing- the uniform of the North thus answered the 
question: 

" 'Tis the last man at Beaufort 
Left sitting alone; 
All his valiant companions 

Had 'vamoosed' and gone. 
No Secesh of his kindred 

To comfort is nigh, 
All his liquor's expended, 
The bottle is dry! 

We'll not leave thee, thou lone one, 

Or harshly condemn — 
Since your friends have all 'mizzled,' 

You can't sleep with them; 
And it's no joking matter 

To sleep with the dead; 
So we'll take you back with us — 

Jim, lift up his head! 

He muttered some words 

As they bore him awiy. 
And the breeze thus repeated 

The words he did say: 
' When the liquor's all out. 

And your friends they have flown, 
O, who would inhabit 

This Beaufort alone?' " 

The Federal troops visited all the deserted houses and removed all the 
articles of value, pianos, organs, banjoes, accordions, guitars, costly bric-a- 
brac, statuettes, vases, clocks and innumerable other things, storing them 
in the Beaufort Academy and the Arsenal, thus protecting them from 
thieves and other lawless characters. Expeditious as were the soldiers in 
this work of saving property, they found that many of the organs and pianos 
had been cut open by the slaves in the hope of finding valuables hidden by 
their masters. Every day negroes might be seen digging in the yards 
where they suspected treasure belonging to their masters might have 
been buried. 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 



95 



Considerable fun was obtained through the negroes. One old darke}^ 
ever since the bombardment of Beaufort, had asked every Union soldier he 
met if "Abe Lincoln had come," and had showed considerable disappoint- 
ment when told that the President was still in Washington. 

"Where were you, uncle, during the bombardment ?" he was asked. The 




6RARCHIX1; FOR BURIED TREASURE. 



darkey turned up his eyes until only the whites were visible as he answered: 
"Right here, massa. It looked as if de fire an' brimstone was comin' 

down, and de yearth was agwine up." 

The old fellow loved to talk with the "Yankees," and in one of his 

yarns he told how, when the fort was built, Major Lee, the Confederate 



96 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

commander, said, profanely, "The devil couldn't take it — God Almighty 
himself couldn't take it." 

"But on de day when de Major got on his black horse an' rode like de 
devil to get out of the way of the fire an' brimstone, a cullud preacher, 
massa, ran into the towncryin,' 'O, massa, God A'mighty come an' de Yan- 
kees come widhim,' an' the Major, massa, hadn't reckoned on dat dar union." 

While the equipment was being landed the Battery was quartered in the 
Johnson house, but in a few days the tents were pitched in a lot opposite, a 
line of Sibley tents on either side, the pieces parked between. The officers 
nsed a house opposite for their quarters, at the rear of which the stables 
were erected. Tn a vacant lot adjoining the ol^cers' quarters was an old 
shanty used by the cooks. 

Soon after the arrival of the Battery at Beaufort, a strange black 
steamer was seen coming down the river and the report was circulated that 
it was one of the enemy's gunboats. It passed Beaufort and steamed 
towards Hilton Head. All knew that it would be taken care of there so no 
one worried about it. Later it was learned that it was the Confederate 
steamer. The Planter, which its engineer, Robert Small, had -abducted and 
taken safely to Hilton Head where he handed it over to the Unionists. 

On the first Sunday spent in Beaufort a sad and solemn service was 
held. Comrade Spencer, who had died from disease contracted on shipboard, 
was buried. The service was impressive, and though the comrade had not 
died in active service on the field of battle, he was accorded military honors 
at his funeral. 

As soon as the tents were pitched and the stables ready, the real work 
of the Battery commenced. Every member thought that he knew all about 
a military life, but he soon learned that at Camp Tyler the drill and guard 
duty was but a pastime. He had been playing at being a soldier, he was 
now to learn what it meant in reality. 

Capt. Rockwell was a strict disciplinarian. Though he had studied the 
art of war from books and during his short service with Capt. Tidball's 
Battery in Washington, his course at the mining school at Frieberg, in 
Saxony, where he studied mining engineenng, and his two years at another 
European college gave him a clear insight into what was necessary to 
transform citizens into good soldiers. When he took command of the First 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 97 

Connecticut Light Battery he commenced daily inspections to iind out the 
condition of the Company's property. 

"Turn out for inspection," was the daily order for three or four days. 

The soldiers stood in front of their tents with their knapsack, or valise, 
open in front of them, so that all their property could be inspected. The 
cannoneers had knapsacks and the drivers valises. The Captain, accom- 
panied by one of the Lieutenants, the First Sergeant and Company 
Clerk, would pass down the line stopping in front of each soldier, while the 
Company Clerk would ask the regulation questions, to which the soldier had 
to answer " yes " or "no," as the various articles were mentioned. Capt. 
Rockwell looked like a supreme Inspector-General, and many a comrade 
quailed before him. 

The soldier stood at "Attention" while the Company Clerk asked him 
whether he possessed a blanket, rubber blanket, overcoat, two shirts, knife, 
fork and spoon, tin plate and cup, haversack, valise, sword and sword knot, 
dress hat, blouse, stable jacket, spurs, whip, leather stock and extra pair of 
socks. As each of these were mentioned the soldier had to answer "yes" or 
" no." 

After these days of inspection were over and the Captain got a full 
knowledge of the Company property, a mounted drill was ordered. 

The Battery had been reported to Capt. Rockwell to be in first-class 
condition, well drilled and ready for immediate service, but after inspecting 
the Company property the Captain always appeared as though he suspected 
that everything was not as represented, so he did not order ammunition put 
into either gun limbers or caissons. 

The bugler blew the order " Boots and Saddles ! " horses were harnessed 
and hitched to the guns and caissons promptly enough to please the 
strictest disciplinarian, but when the order was given "Forward," the tug 
of war commenced. 

Capt. Rockwell took his position, followed by the bugler, and, in a 
loud commanding voice that told the comrades he meant business, he 
ordered: 

"Piece from the right, front into column I " 

The bugle repeated the order by the regulation bugle sounds, but the 
piece from the right did not move. The horses positively refused to obey 



98 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

the order. The riders used the whip and spurs, the well-drilled horses com- 
menced to see-saw, rear up, pitch sideways, fall backwards, kick, snort, 
paw, jump, and do every thing- that an intelligent horse could think of ex- 
cept to obey the order to move forward. The cannoneers pushed the guns 
on their heels, took the leaders by the head, endeavored to coax, but it was 
no use, the horses were sore and sick from their long voyage on the Ellwood 
Walter and positively refused to drill until they felt in better health. 

Capt. Rockwell rode down the line and ordered : 

" Second piece forward ! " 

The result was the same; so finally he concluded to start the left piece 
first, and just as the bugle sounded " Forward! " the driver touched the sad- 
dle horse with the spurs and gently laid the whip over its mate. The 
horse gave a sudden lunge forward as it felt the whip, as if trying to jump 
out of the harness, stood up on its hind legs, and put one of its forelegs 
across the neck of the saddle horse and hung there helpless and cast. This 
caused such a complete tangle that all had to dismount and assist in getting 
the horses afoot and the harness straightened out, for the entire team was 
thrown into confusion by the performance of the leaders. 

The captain saw that there was not a team in his well-drilled Battery 
that would start an empty gun carriage or caisson, to say nothing of draw- 
ing them filled with ammunition. 

The next attempt at drill was riding the horses around harnessed but 
not hitched to the guns and caissons. In a short time the horses began to 
obey orders. 

When this was accomplished the Captain tried section drill, which con- 
sisted of two guns and two caissons, and again the horses behaved splendidly, 
and so the entire Battery was ordered out, and this time all went well. 
From that time mounted drills were ordered daily, mounted drills mornings 
and standing gun drill afternoons, until both men and horses were reported 
as well drilled and the Battery fully equipped and ready for action. Though 
a similar report had been made to the Captain when he took command, it 
was only after these repeated drillings that the report was correct. 

Officers and men worked hard to make the Battery perfect. For quite 
some time the officers studied up their tactics and recited them to the 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 99 

Captain three evenings in the week, and the non-commissioned officers did 
the same the other three evenings. 

The remarkably short time it took the Battery to get into condition has 
often been commented on by those who saw the first drill, but it is easily 
explained. The men were intelligent and were earnest in their work, each 
comrade taking pride in trying to perform his part of the drill a little bet- 
ter than the others. It has been the custom to give the Captain all the 
credit for getting the Battery into such an efficient condition in such a short 
space of time, but the credit should be divided equally between the Captain 
and the men. The members of the First Connecticut Light Battery were 
possessed of pride, intelligence and good character; their early training had 
been along the line of integrity, their education had not been neglected, and 
their family record was a matter of pride, so they felt that they had not only 
to sustain a good army reputation but a family honor which must not be 
lowered or besmirched. Every comrade felt as keen an interest in the repu- 
tation and success of the Battery as the Captain, or as though they all ex- 
pected to be promoted to a General's rank for meritorious conduct. This 
feeling made them anxious about the kind of reports that would reach their 
homes and the State they represented. Was it any wonder that with this 
sort of pride and self-respect, coupled with intelligence and education, the 
work of transforming citizens into well-drilled soldiers was easy ? 

During the time the Battery was stationed at Beaufort and at the time 
of these early drills a regular Battery was also stationed there. This Battery 
was Capt. Hamilton's, formerly Sherman's, and a continuation of the old 
Ringgold Battery, famous in the Mexican war and often spoken of as the 
most perfect Light Battery in the service. At the first attempt at drill of 
the Connecticut Volunteer Battery the regulars laughed heartily, and in 
conversation frequently boasted what they could do, intimating, with a kind 
of veteran sneer and look, that the volunteers would never be able to do as 
well as the regulars. Smarting under the taunts of the boastful regulars 
the comrades were determined to show them that they could not only equal, 
but beat them, at their own game. In a very few weeks this was accom- 
plished, for as one of the comrades wrote: "The regulars boasted they 
could dismount and mount their guns in quick time, but we beat them by 
fifteen seconds." 



100 HISTORY AND REMIXISCENCES 

The drill ground was formerly a cotton field of about sixty acres in 
extent, it had been levelled off and was as perfect for the purposes of drill as 
any that could be found. Besides Hamilton's Battery there were several 
regiments of infantry and cavalry, and often artillery, cavalry and infantry 
drilled at the same time, giving the men an excellent object lesson. 

The daily routine during those first days in camp at Beaufort was as 
follows: Reveille, at 5.50; roll call, 6.00 a. m. ; Feed horses and sick call, 6.45; 
Breakfast, 7.00; Guard mounting at 8.00; Clean horses, feed hay and water 
horses, 8.30; Drill, 9.00; Dinner call, 12.00; then feed and water; Drill or 
inspection; Supper, 6.00; Stable call, 7.00; Taps at 9,00 o'clock, when all 
lights had to be out. 

Target practice relieved the monotony of the regular drill. For this 
practice a section of the Battery was ordered to a location about one mile 
from Beaufort, where targets were placed at a distance of sixteen hundred 
yards, and at these percussion and fuse-shells and solid shots were fired. 
Considerable interest was manifested in the competition, each gunner trying 
to excel in making good shots and establishing a record. 

The necessity for target practice was the more urgent because the 
James rifled brass gun, with which the Battery was equipped, was entirely 
new in the service, and its ranges had never been determined. Its calibre, 
3.80, was also a new one. The attempt had been made to convert the old 
brass 6-pounder, smooth bore, calibre 3.67, into a rifled gun, in order to 
increase its eflFectiveness and accuracy, using the same charge of powder 
but a heavier projectile. The James gun had this new calibre, and pro- 
jectile, and weighed about 900 pounds, about 100 pounds more than the 
old 6-pounder. It was a beautiful but untried gun. The elongated pio- 
jectiles were also new and had to be tested. The target practice, to 
determine the ranges, at once developed the fact that about half of the per- 
cussion shells were worse than useless. They not only often burst as soon 
as they left the gun, but the gutta-percha packing was stripped off in firing, 
and the shell, instead of following the rifling, cut across it, to the great 
injury of the gun. Capt. Rockwell reported the facts to Gen. Sherman, and 
the latter came to Beaufort to witness the tests. He ordered out a section 
of Hamilton's Battery, which he had himself formerly commanded, to fire 
also at the same target with their lo-pounder Parrot. As luck would have 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861-1865 101 

it, many of the Parrot shells, on this occasion, went end over end and not at 
all to the General's satisfaction. He was greatly annoyed, and as he walked 
back and forth was heard to say to the officer commanding the section, 

"God damn it, Mr. G , I don't see that your Battery is any better than 

this damn volunteer battery. " It is needless to say that the General ordered 
the defective ammunition condemned and replaced by the kind which had 
been proved satisfactory in the target practice. 

In his, almost nervous, desire to make the Battery absolutely perfect, 
Capt. Rockwell often attempted the impossible. In theory certain things 
were right, and in the military school they could be practiced, but in camp 
and on the field conditions are changed. The horses were often stabled with 
only a covering of pine branches to shelter them from the sun, the roads 
were dusty, the camp often almost obscured by the clouds of fine dust 
wafted across, but the Captain looked upon such trifles with indifference. 
He would walk down the picket rope and pass his white-gloved hand over 
the sides of the horses or would rub his finger behind the horse's ear, and 
then, if his white glove was soiled, he administered a stinging reproof. Did 
not the military code require from students in artillery and cavalry that the 
horses should be so groomed that a white glove would not be soiled? It was 
quite some time before the Captain realized that to groom horses to that 
perfection under the conditions existing would mean the death of the 
horses. That was one instance where theory was but ill adapted to the 
needs of the time. 

If the Government had only paid the men according to promise the 
temptations of Beaufort in the way of cheap food would have proved too 
great, for oysters could be obtained for twenty-five cents a bushel, or ten 
cents a quart opened, and as for crabs, they were so plentiful that a few 
cents would buy enough for a feast. Many of the comrades used to strip 
naked and wade around through the mud letting the crabs catch hold of 
their toes. It was a comical sight to see three or four naked men crawling 
round in a mud pond just like hogs, pulling the mud and leaves around to 
find the crabs. After a few minutes they were splashed all over with the nasty, 
sticky mud, but at the end of an hour no savage who daubed his body over 
with clay looked worse than they did. But some of the comrades who had 
a few cents used to hire a colored boy to catch the crabs and cook them. 



102 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

He was an excellent cook, and as for crab-catching the South could not find 
anyone to excel him. He would start out and in a short time return with 
a good mess of fine crabs. He used to say that the crabs preferred "a 
niggah's toe to any other bait," and so it seemed, for while a white man's 
whole body was exposed to the crabs, he would only push his foot into the 
mud and water and pull it out jerking a fine crab over his shoulder. Then 
down into the water his foot went again and the process was always success- 
ful and crabs were had in plenty. 

The colored people were very intelligent, though some who came into 
camp from the plantations presented a strange appearance and showed but 
little intelligence. Their clothes were tattered and of all colors and 
combinations. Some were clad in oat sacks, and some wore coats made of 
old carpets with great red and green flowers on them. 

Very many of the colored women were good cooks, and daily they 
brought into camp hoecakes, waffles, pies, sweet potatoes, oranges and 
anything eatable. It was a treat to the soldiers to get something different 
to the contractors' wormy hard tack, salt horse, bacon and beans, which, as 
one comrade said, must have been to the North Pole with the Kane 
expedition and returned as being too indigestible for human beings. The 
negroes had such a high opinion of the Northern soldiers that though the 
men were without money, credit was given liberally, and it is to the honor of 
the Battery that not one single complaint was ever made against a member 
for neglecting to pay his bill when pay day came round. Sometimes, 
however, advantage was taken of a poor negro and he was made to suffer. 

The comrades who were fortunate enough to have a little money 
engaged negroes to act as servants, shining shoes, keeping uniforms clean 
and brushed, and doing many other things which might be considered 
menial. This domestic arrangement only lasted about ten days, for as soon 
as regular discipline was established the comrades were ordered to dismiss 
their help and trust to their own hands. During that ten days, however, 
the comrades got a considerable amount of fun out of the peculiarities of the 
negroes. These hard-headed sons of Ham used to practice butting each 
other like rams, and the comrades would back the men against each other. 
A tent would send a challenge to the servant in another tent, and 
butting matches were a favorite amusement. One man, who was considered 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861-1865 103 

the champion "butter," like many more champions, got an enlarged idea of 
his importance, and one day butted one of the comrades, who, on the impulse 
of the moment, and taken aback by the iinexpected assault, raised his foot 
and gave the butter such a kick that it was feared his jaw was broken. 
The negro held his face, and in piteous tones said " Lordy Gody, massa 
excusen anything but kick." 

Many of the comrades, however, had landed in Beaufort without any 
money. Comrade Tallmadge tells how, when at Park Barracks, in New 
York he was told that he would not need to purchase anything, the 
Government in its lavish generosity undertaking to provide everything a 
man could possibly need. Comrade Tallmadge laughs when he recalls how 
he believed these reports and statements, and how silly it was to trust to the 
talk around the recruiting stations. He, in the trustfulness of his soul, took 
all for granted and spent his money in going to amusements and in treating 
his friends and comrades. Money melts quickly in New York, and before 
the time for sailing the whole of the thirty-two dollars Comrade Tallmadge 
had brought from home had gone. He had thought he might need the 
money in some emergency, but spent it all in New York. He saw his mis- 
take when he landed at Beaufort, about half starved, and saw plenty of food 
for sale. In his despair he felt in the corners of his pockets, but not a cent 
was left. " Necessity is the mother of invention," says the old proverb, and 
certain it is that necessity sharpens the wits. Comrade Tallmadge wanted 
food, not the army rations, which he could have freely enough, but some of 
the dainties the Government did not provide. In his pocket he had a New 
England watch. It had cost him six dollars. Like the watch, he came from 
New England and knew how to trade. He met a man who wanted a watch 
and had money. Comrade Tallmadge had a watch but no money. So an 
exchange was made, and the watch left Comrade Tallmadge's pocket and 
found its way into that of the other; but in its place our comrade foimd 
himself the richer by twelve dollars, for he had sold the watch for that 
amount. It was a good stroke of business, and Comrade Tallmadge soon 
proved how valuable money was to a hungry man, for he did not allow 
many minutes go by before he was feasting on nigger pies and hoe cake, 
which tasted good even if they were flavored with nigger wool. 

On the I St of March, 1862, the Battery got a scare, heavy firing had 



104 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

been heard for two days, and a rumor had obtained currency that the 
enemy was about to try and recapture Beaufort. In the midst of this 
excitement two members of the Battery were found asleep at their posts. 
This was one of the most serious offences that could be committed and 
under tlie circumstances was likely to be punished by death. "Assembly " 
was blown and all hands turned out. The Captain read the Articles of War 
and explained that the two men were liable to be court-martialed and shot, 
but that he would overlook the offence for once, and it was with difficulty 
that the Battery could refrain from cheering this act of clemency. 

Only a few days before there had been some little trouble with the 
p-allant looth Penn. Volunteers, known as the Roundheads, and two regi- 
ments, the 50th Penn. and ygtli N. Y., had been called out to quell mutiny 
if it were attempted, but happily the insubordination was but trifling. 
The Roundheads proved their loyalty on many a battle field and no regiment 
could have behaved better when facing the enemy. 

" For the Roundheads loved the Union 
As the husband loves his bride." 

The daily routine was getting monotonous and the men were wishing 
for some new excitement when word was given that General Sherman was 
to review the Brigade on the next day, Thursday, ]\Iarch 6th. Every soldier 
tried to look his best, and with honest pride saw that arms, accoutrements, 
guns, caissons and horses were in perfect condition. 

That Brigade inspection was an inspinng sight. The 79th New York, 
the 50th Pennsylvania, the 8th Michigan and the First Conn. Light Battery, 
in addition to a section of Hamilton's Regular Battery, was reviewed by the 
gallant General and his staff. Those who had thought Capt. Rockwell 
too strict a disciplinarian realized that he knew his duty when they heard the 
words of General Sherman complimenting the Captain on the eiffciency 
of the Battery and saying that the " First Connecticut Light Battery was 
the best he had ever reviewed." Subsequently Gen. Sherman spoke in the 
highest terms to his friend, Gen. Daniel Tyler of Connecticut, of the Battery 
as a credit to the army and the State. 

A few days later the bugle sounded the call " Boots and Saddles," and 
the order rang out from the Sergeants: " Fall in with haversack, blanket 
and canteen." Within .seventeen minutes after the bugle sounded the Bat- 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 105 

tery had hitched up and was leaving camp. The order was to take the road 
to Port Royal Ferry, as the enemy was going to seize the ferry. It was the 
first real alarm the Battery had experienced and every man gloried at the 
thought of meeting the enemy. Brief letters were written home and the 
clerk had a good big bundle to send North. 

Five miles at double-quick before "halt" was called. Then the Bat- 
tery formed on each side of the road at a place called Salt Water Bridge. 

" We heard troops coming on the road in front of us," writes Comrade 
Griswold, " and expected to see them come over the hill every minute. The 
gun I was on was ordered to cover the brow of the hill. A small hemlock tree 
was in the way some twenty yards in front. The Captain called for some one 
to volunteer to go to the front and cut it. I dropped my rammer, drew my 
toadsticker and started, when I discovered a smile on the corner of the 
Captain's mouth, and it came to me that it was a sell ; which it proved to be, 
and we returned to camp receiving the compliments of the General for our 
quick response." 

Every day after that there came rumors and alarms. Each morning 
the Battery expected to hear the order "Break Camp," and each member 
was ready and eager for the fray. The tension became almost painful, for 
the heavy thunder of guns could be heard in the distance and all wanted to 
exchange camp life for the active one of war. So great had become this 
nervous tension that at times it became ludicrous. 

One night there was an alarm and the Battery was ordered out. Capt. 
Rockwell wanted absolute silence, and the soldiers respected his wish ; but at 
a most important crisis there was an audible noise that reached the ears of 
the Captain. 

"Silence! " he said in a voice just loud enough for the men to hear. 
The noise continued, and the Captain, thinking his order had not been 
heard, shouted, this time in a voice which meant grim determination. 

' ' Silence in the ranks ! " 

The soldiers looked at each other, the officers looked at the privates, 
but not a word was spoken. For a minute there was a silence like death, 
but then the noise re-commenced. 

"Silence!" the Captain thundered, "I'll punish every private who 
disobevs. " 



106 



HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 



There was no cessation of the noise, and Capt. Rockwell was worked 
up into a frenzy of anger. He looked as though he would have liked to 
send every man to the guard house or to inflict some dire punishment upon 
him. His hand was on his sword, his teeth tightly closed, he was 
evidently meditating how to stop the supposed insubordination in the ranks, 
when one of the high privates muttered : 

" Those frogs will be court-martialed unless they stop croaking." 
His mutterings were heard and there was a spontaneous laugh, in which 
all but the Captain joined. He had mistaken the croaking of frogs for the 
voices of some under his command. 

In the latter part of March, 1862, one section was detailed to go to 
Port Royal Ferry, where it remained ten days with the reserve picket, when 
it was relieved by another section. 

This picket duty was a regular picnic for the soldiers, the only 
drawback being the close watch kept by the cavalry patrol who tried to 
prevent excursions to the surrounding country, where the darkies used to 
wait to exchange chickens, eggs and sweet potatoes for the army pork and 
bacon. Though the risk was great, many encountered it and managed to 
smuggle all sorts of good things into camp. Comrade Sloan tells of an 
expedition he made with Comrade John Monarch. " Monarch had a sack 

of potatoes in front of his saddle," said Comrade 
Sloan, "when we were sighted by the patrol. 
The bag was insecurely tied, and pretty soon the 
potatoes began slipping out, leaving a good trail 
for our pursuers. We managed to stop the leak, 
and by taking to the woods and considerable 
dodging we escaped. One day our section want- 
ed some sweet potatoes, and wanted them badly. 
We knew that there was a large field of them 
near our camp, but as some of our boys had 
taken a few, a cavalry patrol was put around the 
field. We thought we could outwit the ' horse 
marines,' so we took a wagon one dark night and 
got close to the field. We filled about thirty 
sacks, loaded them into the wagon and got back 




JOHN MONARCH, 
of Manchester, Conn. 



Mustered Private Nov. 2, 1861 ; 
re-enlisted Veteran Dec. 19, 1863 ; 
promoted Corporal Oct 27, 1864; 
Sergeant April, 12, 1865. Mus- 
tered out June II, 186 j. 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 107 

to the camp undetected. But then we were in a fix, we did not know 
what to do with the potatoes. The officer commanding the section had a 
small house for quarters, and we managed to get in the back way and 
pile the potatoes in the fire-place. In the morning the patrol reported 
the loss, and a search of the camp was made, every tent was thoroughly 
searched, but no potatoes were found, and we were exonerated." 

One day an old negro entered the picket camp with a bag full of peanuts 
which he offered for sale, but no one had any money and he refused to give 
credit. Some of the soldiers got around him and began to steal from his 
bag. While he was defending himself some one took a knife and cut a hole in 
the bottom of the bag, letting the peanuts out on the floor. Every man in 
the tent began to scramble for the peanuts, and the negro's opportunity came. 
He struck out right and left with his bag and used his feet on the scrambling 
soldiers, but they turned on him. Before he could recover from his astonish- 
ment he was thrown out of the tent heels over head. Then there was a 
hearty laugh, for it was a standing joke that a negro's head was so hard that 
nothing could hurt it. 

The peanut vender complained to the Officer of the Day, who entered 
the tent and saw a corroboration of the darky's story, for every man was 
eating peanuts. 

"Where did you get those peanuts?" he asked in a voice that seemed 
to threaten punishment. 

"Bought them," was the unabashed reply as the comrades saluted. 

"I'll tell you, massa, I " the darky commenced. 

"Shut up!" 

The officer ordered the men out to drill in the hot sun for two hours as 
a punishment for stealing the peanuts. One comrade, who had been behind 
the tent eating nuts, did not go out to drill with the others. The officer 
passed around the tent and saw him. 

"What are you doing here? why don't you fall in for drill?" 

"I bought the peanuts, sir," the comrade answered; and he spoke the 
truth, for he was the only man who had money and he had really invested a 
few cents in the peanuts. To which the officer replied, "You all lie so like 
hell, I can't believe you." But the comrade, feeling the injustice of the 
sentence so far as he was concerned, refused to drill, and the officer ordered 



108 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

the Corporal of the Guard to place Private M under arrest for dis- 
obedience of orders. 

The comrade was court-martialed and sentenced to hard labor in Dry 
Tortugas, although he was the only innocent man in the company. The 
General, in reviewing the testimony and findings of the court, said that the 
officer in charging his men with "lying like hell," used language unbecom- 
ing an officer and against the regulations. The sentence was not approved 
by the Commander-in-Chief and the Comrade was ordered back to service 
after being under punishment about four months. 

An incident often recalled shows how some two or three of the 
members of the Battery delighted in taking advantage of the ignorance of 
the colored folks. One of the comrades, being out of money, devised a novel 
plan for raising a little, much to the disgust of the majority of the Battery, 
who objected to any departure from strict integrity. Pasted on the 
fifty-cent bottles of Perry Davis's Pain Killer there were green labels 
on which "50 Cents" was printed at each end, surrounded by a very 
attractive border. When removed from the bottle it bore a slight 
resemblance to the old fifty-cent shin-plaster money. The comrade offered 
one of the labels for five cents' worth of peanuts, and received forty-five 
cents in change, but unfortunately for the comrade, another soldier, 
belonging to a different company, bought peanuts from the same negro, 
giving a dollar bill in payment. The negro, in making change, handed him 
the fifty-cent label. The soldier was furious and refused to take it, but the 
peanut vender insisted that it was all right, and in proof pointed out 
the comrade from whom he had taken it. This led to the arrest of the 
Connecticut artilleryman and to his being condemned to the punishment of 
wearing a wooden overcoat for the space of one week. 

These wooden overcoats were made from barrels, with one head 
knocked out and a hole sawed in the other just large enough to allow a 
man's head to go through, so that the barrel would rest on his shoulders. 
In this garb the comrade was compelled to march all day in a conspicuous 
part of the camp, watched by the guard, so that every soldier could see him 
and profit by the terrible example. On the barrel the word "swindler" 
was painted in large letters. Another comrade succeeded in passing a 
dollar label for ten dollars and received a similar punishment. The poor 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861-1865 



109 



negroes knew no better and they had such implicit confidence in the 
"Yankees" that they believed everything they were told. To the honor of 
the Battery it must be recorded that only two or three at most of its members 
were ever guilty of these dishonest practices, and even those looked 
upon their acts rather as "sharp practice" than crime. 

Punishments were often inflicted for very trivial offences, and while, at 







WEARING THE WOODEN OVERCOAT. 



the time, the disgrace was unpleasant, in later days the comrades laughed 
over the ridiculous punishments inflicted. Comrade Charles W. Gesner 
recently wrote to Historian Beecher as follows : 

" I think that I can claim the honor of being the first man in the First 
Connecticut Light Battery to be mounted on a barrel-head as a mode of 
punishment. 



110 



HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 




CHARLES VV. GESNER, 
of New Haven. 
Enlisted Nov. 7, 1861 ; 
mustered in Nov. 14 ; re- 
enlisted veteran Mar. 4, 
1864 ; promoted Corporal 
Nov. 20, 1864; Sergeant 
April 12, 1865; mustered 
out June II, 1865. 



" The cause was the breaking of a lantern, some back talk, and the in- 
terference of a high private, who usually made himself officious. However, 
I do not retain any ill-feeling againstthe said high private, and sometimes 
have thought it was all for the best. 

" I know that the thoughts which passed through 
my mind during the four hours that I held that barrel 
down were of some use to me in my career as a soldier. 
One sure thing is, that I was not punished again as 
long as I remained in the army. 

"The time put in on the barrel did not drag on 
my hands either, as I passed the time in scouring an 
old fruit can so that I could use it for a coffee cup, mine 
having been taken by some one by mistake, I presume — 
you know such things did occur sometimes. 

"Another novel means of punishment adopted in 
the camp was cutting a hole in the head of a barrel and 
dropping the barrel down over the man's head, leaving 
nothing but his head and legs showing. 

"It so happened that the first man to receive the punishment was a 
very short man, and you can imagine what a striking figure he presented as 
he tramped up and down the parade ground all day for a number of days. 
This comrade's offence was the passing of worthless green paper on a negro 
for United States shinplasters." 

Military discipline is strict. From the highest officer to the rawest 
recruit all are amenable to discipline, and when some private is censured he 
feels some little consolation in the fact that the officer who has administered 
the rebuke may himself be censured the next day. 

On one occasion "Sod" Blatchley entered the presence of Capt. 
Rockwell, who was conversing with Gen. Stevens and Lieut. Seward. 
Blatchley had very large feet, which were made very sore by wearing the 
regular army shoes, which were too short and narrow for him. He required 
a number 12 of a special width. It was necessary to send North for some. 
Getting impatient at the delay and seeing his townsman, Lieut. Seward in 
the group of officers, he made bold to enter their presence, and, giving a 
slouchy salute, asked the Lieutenant if his shoes had come. Capt. Rockwell 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 111 

reprimanded him severely and ordered him out of the tent, threatening him 
with arrest. Gen. Stevens, who had a warm corner in his heart for the 
boys, gently reproved the Captain, saying that the poor fellow had a right 
to ask for his shoes. The Captain understood the reproof and accepted it 
like a soldier. " Sod," however, chafed at the treatment he had received, 
and, while brooding over the reprimand, met a comrade townsman who had 
secured some smuggled whiskey. He told him his grievance, and was 
consoled by the comrade, who gave him some of the whiskey, and advised 
him to cheer up and tell the Captain to go to hell if he spoke to him again. 

" Sod" must have taken the advice literally for he was soon crazy drunk 
and was arrested for abusive language to the Captain. He was tied up to a 
tree in front of the officers' quarters, bucked and gagged, but made himself 
so offensive to all who passed that he was transferred to an old smoke house, 
or slave prison, which was in the rear of the Captain's quarters. There he 
was handcuffed and locked in. During the night "Sod" managed to slip 
his hands out of the fetters and finding a loose stone in the wall, worked at 
it, picking out the mortar, and pushing his great, strong, broad shoulders 
against it until he managed to push it out of its place, leaving a hole large 
enough for him to crawl through. He hid the handcuffs and boasted that 
they would never be worn by another man, and he was right, for they were 
never found. 

In the morning "Sod" was roaming about the camp sober, as if nothing 
had happened. For this jail breaking and similar offences he was court- 
martialed, and though defended by Lieut. Seward, was foimd guilty and 
sentenced. Owing to "Sod's" many good qualities when in his normal 
condition, and the appeal of his many friends, the sentence was not 
approved by the Commanding-General, and "Sod" was returned to duty. 
This was the last serious trouble "Sod" ever gave the officers. 

An amusing incident occurred at the time of his arrest. "Sod" was a 
big, athletic fellow, as strong as an ox. A corporal and six men were sent 
to arrest him. At first they attempted to lay their hands on him but he 
shook them off and piled them up in a heap as fast as they got near him. 
After the first round "Sod" let them get hold of him, and then commenced 
the fun. He carried them all away from the guard tent instead of toward 
it. The comrades who watched were shaking their sides with laughter, as 



112 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

they saw him dragging the six men who chmg to him with all their strength. 
They looked like a lot of liliputians clinging to a giant. 

" Sod " could be won by kindness and coaxing, but once try to use force 
and he was defiant. Comrade Sloan tells about one time when a corporal 
and four men were sent for "Sod," who was in one of his hilarious tan- 
trums, and returned reporting that they could not arrest him. Comrade 
Sloan was called the "Boy of the Battery," he was neither stout nor formid- 
able looking. 

"I can arrest 'Sod' alone," he told the Corporal. 

"Try it then." 

Sloan was one of "Sod's" favorites. He walked up to him, saying, but 
in a kindly voice : 

"What's the matter, 'Sod?' Come along with me." 

To the astonishment of all the big fellow went with the "Boy of the 
Battery," as docile as a lamb, submitting to arrest without a murmur. 

On March 28 the Battery was reviewed by General Benham and 
General Stevens, and both Generals spoke in very complimentary terms of 
the brave boys from Connecticut. Perhaps those words of praise made up 
for the hardships of the day, for the Battery had been drilled until noon on 
the dusty drill ground, then hurried to camp, brushed up and everything 
put in "apple pie" order, fell in for inspection at one o'clock, but it was not 
until three that the Generals arrived, and all this time the men had 
been without food. 

Early in April the Battery participated in a very solemn demonstration. 
The entire brigade was ordered out to witness the drumming out of camp of 
a private of the 79th New York Volunteers. His crime was a serious one, 
for he had left his post while on guard duty, got drunk, and then added 
to his fault by abusing the officers. The Battery turned out without horses 
or guns and marched to the parade ground. Hamilton's Battery, fully 
equipped, was parked on the left of the field, the different regiments were 
formed in line on the right, and lastly came the General and staff 
with the 79th N. Y,, the prisoner in the rear, marching in a hollow square. 
The 79th formed on the right of the other troops, making a line of 
double rank half a mile long. The prisoner, handcuffed, his head shaved 
both sides, all the buttons cut from his uniform, except those which 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 113 

were actually necessary to keep his clothes together, was paraded the whole 
length of the line, guarded by two files of soldiers, the regimental band 
playing the "Rogues' March." As the prisoner and his guard passed 
each regiment the respective bands fell in the rear and joined in the 
"Rogues' March." 

The disgrace, to a sensitive man, is the greatest that can be endured, 
and but few ever recover from its effects. In this case, however, the 
ending was far different to the usual one. The soldier who had been 
drummed out of camp, re-enlisted later and for his bravery on the field rose 
to the rank of Major and received a medal of honor. The punishment had 
made a man of him, and he lived to be respected by the very officers and men 
who had taken part in his expulsion from the army. 

The next time the entire brigade was called out was to the funeral of 
eleven of the Eighth Michigan who had been killed in a fight on Wilmington 
Island. ,' Three hundred of the regiment had been sent on a foraging 
expedition and were taken by surprise, being attacked by a large force of 
Confederates. It was not believed that a single armed Confederate w'as on 
the Island, but a sharp volley from a Georgia regiment poured into the 
ranks of the foraging party was sufficient proof to the contrary. In the 
first volley eleven were killed, and the Unionists retreated before a superior 
force, carrying their dead and wounded with them. Eleven dead and thirty- 
four wounded brought back to the camp made every one feel very solemn. 

" It may be our turn next," said Comrade Hotchkiss. 

"That's what we're here for," responded a comrade rather flippantly; 
"it is death or glory, you know." 

" I cannot see that glory does you much good, for it generally comes to 
your memory, and you're not alive to enjoy it." 

"That reminds me of Tim McCarthy, who lost one leg, both arms, had 
his right eye blinded and the other nearly closed, his jaw was broken and a 
nasty sabre cut was across his face. A friend met him and said he didn't 
look as though he had got much fun out of a soldier's life. ' Fun, is it? 
Sure, I've had me fill of it; an' besides, look at the glory I've won! ' And 
then Tim went on begging from his countrymen the price of a meal." 

" I'm thinking that most of the glory goes to the officer." 

" I heard a good story of a 3^oung soldier who was on his knees praying 



114 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

a very long time. The ofificer of the clay saw him and asked what he was 
praying for at that time of day. ' Don't you hear the shells whizzing? ' he 
asked. 'Of course I do, and we're in for a big fight,' answered the officer. 
' That's just what I thought, so I was praying that the bullets might be 
distributed like the award of glory, the greatest amount among the 
officers.' " 

The roar of distant artillery sounded ominous and everything was in 
readiness for the order to break camp. At Port Royal Ferry skirmishes 
were of daily occurrence, and the Roundheads (looth Penn.) found several 
of the enemy's guns in unpleasant proximity. 

General Stevens ordered out a section of Hamilton's Battery, two 
companies of cavalry, two of infantry and the whole of the First 
Connecticut Light Battery. 

" Boots and Saddles" was blown by Bugler Hotchkiss, who presented 
a picturesque appearance, for he had nothing on but his shirt, having been 
summoned from bed to sound the call. 

By ten o'clock the Battery was ready at the Ferry to meet the enemy, 
but none was in sight. The horses were turned out to grass, with harness 
on, so that they would be ready at a moment's notice. At noon, forage and 
rations were given out and the men and horses ate heartily, the men 
wondering whether it would be their last meal. Several of the Roundheads 
were brought into camp wounded, and a big scare was occasioned by 
soineone starting the rumor that a big load of rails which passed the camp 
covered up with cloths was really a load of dead Pennsylvanians. Camp 
was selected for the night, the horses were put in a cotton store-hou.'-e and 
some corn cribs, though some were fastened to trees outside. The soldiers 
slept anywhere they could find a place, some under the gun and caisson 
covers, others in old shanties and lofts. Although expecting every moment 
to hear the bugle call to arms all slept well, and on the morrow did full 
justice to a good breakfast of coffee, pork and hard tack. The enemy 
thinking discretion the better part of valor did not put in an appearance, 
and so the order came to break camp and return to Beaufort. 

It was soon after the return from the ferry that a comrade incurred 
the displeasure of his superior and was sentenced to stand for one 
hour on a barrel. All the time he stood there he was heard muttering 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861-1865 115 

something and a fellow comrade stole up quietly behind him expecting to 
hear some choice vituperative language, but instead he found his comrade 
improvising some poetry. It was not very good, perhaps some would have 
said it was not poetry at all, but one verse will show the kind of a poet he 
was. 

" My old Master promised me 

When he died, he'd set me free: 
Now he's dead and gone to h — 1, 

And left me standing on this bar-rel." 

The great crop of blackberries proved a temptation to the men who ate 
so heartily of them that there was considerable sickness m camp. Black- 
berries for each meal, between meals, raw, made into dumplings by the 
colored cooks, ripe and unripe; male but little difference, any way they 
could be obtained they were seized upon with avidity. Comrade Griswold 
tells a story of a blackberry dumpling which is amusing. 

"In my tent was a comrade who was very prim and orderly ; he did not 
enjoy a military life very much because of its privations. One day he was 
late in going for his share of blackberry dumpling, which was cooked for us 
by an old auntie who had been a cook in the Johnston family. We had all 
got our dumpling and had nearly eaten it before our comrade went for his. 
He soon returned with empty plate ; he was too late. We all smiled, and he 
smiled also but it was a very cynical smile. He had made up his mind to 
have a dumpling all to himself, so he went to a shanty nearby and engaged 
the woman to make him a good big dumpling. He did not know the 
woman, for she had only just moved into the town from the plantation, but 
she said she could cook. When he re-entered the tent, he smiled in a self- 
satisfied manner and said there were other cooks besides auntie, and he 
would soon show us how white men should live. He improvised a table out 
of a hard tack box, spread a clean towel over it, made a seat, polished his 
knife and fork and then went for his dumpling. It looked nice when he 
brought it in and put it on the table-in fact, it made our mouths water. 
He prinked awhile and than sat down to cut his dumpling, looking at us and 
smiling. Soon he commenced to gag, then a blue streak was seen, and 
catching the plate and dumpling he marched out of the tent, gagging as he 



116 



HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 



went, and threw plate and dumpling as far as he could. Of course, I am 
telling the truth when I say that there was more darky wool in that dump- 
ling than a man could hold in his hand. 

" It is needless to say that he was always in time to share with his com- 
rades after that, for he had just as much experience of new cooks as he 
wanted." 



' J? v"/ O — W 11, ., 







A SLAVE CABIN. 



CHAPTER V. 



POCOTALIGO. 




RIGADIER-GENERAL Isaac I. Stevens, commanding- 
the Second Brigade of the Department of the South, 
received orders to intercept the enemy by destroying 
the Charleston and Savannah Railroad near the vil- 
lage of Pocotaligo. News had been received from 
the scouts that the enemy was moving in force from 
Grahamville and McPhersonville, and it was to pre- 
vent the massing of a large army at that point that the expedition was 
planned. 

Gen. Stevens at once commenced to make his arrangements with that 
energy which always characterized him. Lieut. Brown, of the 8th Michigan, 
was dispatched to the advanced posts with orders to Capt. Lewis to bring to 
the ferry all the boats at Seabrook and other points. Lieut. Adams, 50th 
Pennsylvania Volunteers, was sent to Ladies Island with similar orders to 
Capt. Dimock, in command of the Island. They took twelve fiats and 
boats to the ferry before the arrival of the troops. 

Twelve flats, including one small ferryboat, were started from Beaufort 
at 9.30 o'clock, each flat manned by a soldier and six negroes, all under the 
charge of Lieut. Donohue, 8th Michigan, and reached the ferry about day- 
light. 

The troops to be engaged were the 50th Penn. Regiment, with one 
company of the 79th N. Y. Highlanders, and one company of the 8th 
Michigan as fatigue parties, and one section of the First Connecticut Light 
Battery, with such force as could be spared from the cavalry. 



118 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

On the afternoon of the 28th May, 1862, the bugle sounded " Boots and 
Saddles!" and the order rang out: 

" Left section, hitch up, one day's rations, haversack, canteen and one 
blanket." 

Capt. Rockwell had been heard to say to Lieut. Cannon that some hard 
fighting would have to be done before the section returned. The centre 
and right sections were rather jealous, for they were anxious to have their 
" baptism of fire." 

At 10:30 p.m. Col. B. C. Christ, of the 50th Pennsylvania Volunteers, 
left Beaufort with his regiment and one company of the 8th Michigan, 
Captain Doyle commanding, and one company of the 79th New York 
Volunteers, Capt. Elliott, for Port Royal Ferry. 

The left section of the Light Battery was ready, but the order did not 
come until an hour later, and the other sections had been ordered to turn in. 
At midnight the section started, Lieut. Cannon in command, for the ferry. 

The troops commenced crossing the ferry about 3 o'clock; much delay 
was experienced in getting the cavalry and the artillery across. The 
Battery horses were taken across first, then the boats returned for the guns 
and caissons, which had to be taken to pieces to load upon the boats, a very 
troublesome piece of work even under the best conditions; then the men 
were taken across to the mainland. 

The infantry commenced their march at 5 a.m., the cavalry at 6 a.m., 
but the Battery was not ready to start before 8 o'clock. 

The day was fiercely hot and the road dusty. It led through a pine 
forest, until it divided at a place called Garden's Corners; the Battery took 
the road to the left and soon heard firing ahead. 

The infantry had encountered the enemy's pickets about two miles 
from the ferry and commenced driving them in, having to do so three 
times before Garden's Corners were reached. 

Col. Christ left Company E, Lieut. Lantz commanding, at the Corners, 
and was reinforced by Major Higginson, First Massachusetts Cavalry, who 
reported with eighty men and horses. 

The Unionists marched toward Pocotaligo by the Sheldon road, and 
reached the village with the peculiar name without interruption, save the 
driving in of the Confederate pickets. 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861-1865 119 

There is a curious story told about the origin of the name. It may be 
a darky's yarn or an etymological fact, but as it was told in all seriousness it 
is worth quoting. 

Many years ago a negro was driving an ox hitched to a cart along the 
road near the site of the present village. The road was exceedingly muddy 
and the mud was deep, sticky and soft. The cart got stuck fast, and the ox 
calmly, but very persistently, refused to draw it out. The negro prodded 
him with a sharp goad, the ox merely switched his tail but did not move his 
feet; then the darky blew in his ear, but that also inspired no desire to 
move; then he tried pulhng the ox's tongue, and eventually got a lot of dry 
brush and lighted it under the animal's belly, without having the least 
effect. A negro coming along and desirous of helping his brother in distress 
said "Poke-a-tail an' he'll go." The negro did so and the ox started for- 
ward dragging the cart from the mud hole. Ever after the place was known 
as Pocotaligo. 

The enemy knowing the country well had chosen a most favorable posi- 
tion, and one from which it required considerable effort to dislodge him. 
As Pocotaligo is reached you have to pass over a causeway about a quarter 
of a mile in length, flanked partly on either side by a marsh, and through 
which passes a stream. About eighty yards from the end of the causeway 
over this stream was a bridge about fifteen feet wide, which the enemy had 
so far destroyed as to make it impassable, save by passing along the string 
pieces which were only six inches wide. On the opposite side of the marsh 
from Pocotaligo there was a narrow strip of woods. Through this the in- 
fantry skirmished, and then ascertained that the enemy was posted under 
cover of trees and ditches within good rifle range on either side of the cause- 
way. It was necessary to get nearer range, and Captain Parker volunteered 
to take his company across the string pieces and let them drop into a ditch 
on the right, where they would be partially under cover. He successfully 
acccomplished this movement. 

About three hundred men under command of Lieut. -Col. Brenholtz, 
passed over and succeeded in dislodging the enemy on the right, which was 
followed by a charge on the left, when the enemy commenced a rapid retreat 
to the woods. . 

Orders were given to relay the bridge so that the cavalry could cross 



120 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

and at that time the Battery arrived on a double quick. Comrade Griswold 
says: "We were on a double quick and soon heard that peculiar and 
unpleasant whiz and spat of the minnie ball for the first time. We loaded 
our guns for the first time with shell to fire at a real enemy. As the Battery 
arrived, the Johnnies were making a hasty retreat." 

By the time the bridge was relaid the enemy had taken refuge in a 
wood where the cavalry could not operate successfully, so the infantry had 
to pursue. The Unionists were worn out with their long march of twenty 
miles and could not pursue as rapidly as the fresh soldiers of the Con- 
federacy could retreat. Ammunition also began to fail, and a scout brought 
word that the enemy awaited the Unionists at the railroad and was being 
reinforced by regiments from McPhersonville and Grahamville. To risk 
another engagement would be suicidal and so the order to retreat was given. 
Haste was urged, fearing that the enemy might try to cut off the retreat at 
Garden's Corners. 

Small detachments of cavalry pursued the Unionists as far as the 
Corners. 

By that time the men and horses of the Battery were completely 
used up, " the rear guard often had to force men who had lain down beside 
the road to move on by using their bayonets. Many were so completely 
used up that they did not care what befell them," writes Comrade Griswold. 
" Our rear team balked, we worked hard to start them, but they would not 
go. The rear guard passed us and advised us that the enemy was close by, 
and we had better abandon the team and gun, but we would not. The 
Confederates came within two rods of us, but ignorant of our trouble, they 
would not risk the drawing of our fire. Our troops were far in advance, 
and in the extreme darkness were ignorant of our position ; some were for 
leaving, others said stand by; finally, after a free use of our sabres upon 
the poor horses, we succeeded in starting them, and kept them going until 
we caught up with the others." 

Comrade Beecher, telling of that retreat from Pocotaligo, says: "We 
were almost famished from thirst; we could get no clean water; we passed 
some puddles on the road where the hogs had wallowed; the water was 
almost as thick and sticky with mud as ordinary molasses. We were so 
nearly famished and desperate for want of water that we drank from these 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 123 

hog puddles and bathed our heads and arms. It was aUnost like drinking 
and bathing in moist mud or clay; a sickening drink, but the moisture 
derived from it gave some slight relief. During the night we were 
refreshed by the falling of the dew." 

One of the prisoners captured at Pocotaligo was a boy, who was fighting 
with the cavalry. He did not look more than ten years old; he was 
equipped the same as the strong men, though he had every appearance of 
being exceedingly delicate. He looked so young that he attracted con- 
siderable attention from the Battery. One of the comrades asked how he 
came to enlist. He looked up with a smile on his face as he answered: 

"All the boys had to enlist in my section, for if they did not the girls 
would not speak to them." 

At the ferry landing not only the tired Unionists were in waiting to 
cross but thousands of contrabands anxious to reach freedom on the other 
side of the Coosaw River. 

Major-General David Hunter, on May 9, had issued a general order 
from Hilton Head, declaring that " Slavery and martial law in a free 
country are altogether incompatible ; the persons in these three States, 
Georgia, Florida and vSouth Carolina, heretofore held as slaves, are there- 
fore declared forever free." (General Orders No. 11, Ed. W. Smith, 
Acting Assistant- Adjutant-General). 

The slaves knew that freedom was only theirs when within the Union 
lines, and so they flocked to the ferry singing a lot of doggrel, the refrain 
of which was: 

" Wake up, snakes, pelicans, and Sesh'ners! 

Don't yer hear 'um comin' — 

Comin' on de run? 

Wake up, I tell yer! Git up, Jefferson ! 

Comin' on de run — 

Bob-o-lish-i-on ! " 

Then others sang a distich on which Whittier founded one of his anti- 
slavery poems: 

" Massa say's it's de day of doom, 
And we ob jubilee!" 

It was impossible to take the negroes across, for the safety of the 
soldiers had to be looked to first, and it was after daylight before the Battery 



124 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

was hitched up on the Beaufort side of the river, and the homeward march 
commenced. Every man was sleepy and tired, having made a difficult 
crossing of the river twice and marched over forty miles in twenty-seven 
hours. 

One comrade of the Battery fell asleep on the roadside and did not get 
into camp until the next day. The Battery arrived in camp at noon and 
after a wash came a prompt obedience to the order " Fall in for grub," an 
order which is seldom disobeyed and of which the comrades often sing, 
their memories keeping green the fact that: 

" While we were soldiers in the war, 
There was one welcome sound ; 
It stirred our inmost selves to hear 

' Fall in for grub,' pass round. 
' Fall in for grub ! ' the good old sound, 

We never can forget ; 
We are so patriotic still, 
We're glad to hear it yet." 

Some of the comrades fell asleep after dinner and had to be awakened 
and ordered to report to the Captain for being absent from roll call 
at sunset. 

Not one member of the Battery was wounded in the skirmish at 
Pocotaligo. The Unionist losses were two killed and nine wounded, the 
gallant Capt. Parker being one of the killed. 

The object for which the expedition was organized was not accomplished, 
but General Stevens in his report says: "The operation was most 
successful as a reconnaissance or demonstration, and it is very certain, could 
the original programme have been carried out, that the whole line would 
have been broken up from Salkehatchie to Coosawhatchie. " 

While the left section of the Battery was engaged with the enemy at 
Pocotaligo, Lieut. Seward returned to Beaufort from the ferry and reported 
that the enemy was driving the Unionists back and the centre section was 
ordered to go to the ferry at once. The centre section was ready to start in 
fifteen minutes after the order was received. Two miles from the ferry the 
section was met by General Stevens who at once ordered it back to camp. 

It is most unfortunate that in this first skirmish in which the First Light 
Battery was engaged the gallant Commander of the 2d Brigade, Brig. -Gen. 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 125 

I. Stevens, should have been so misled that he did an injustice to the Battery. 

In his official report General Stevens wrote: 

"The troops commenced crossing the river at 3 p.m. Much delay oc- 
cured in the passage of both the cavalry and artillery. The infantry 
commenced tlieir march at 5 a.m., the calvary at 6 a.m., but the artillery 
not till 8, and the latter were furthermore delayed in the road nearly two 
hours in feeding and watering their animals. The officer in charge, Lieut. 
Cannon (his first experience in service), states that he used every exertion 
to push up, but did not reach the advance till the enemy had been routed. 

" The report of Col. Christ will give the details of the affair." 

Gen. Stevens was at Beaufort and had to accept the report of Col. 
Christ, in which occurs the following insinuation against Lieut. Cannon and 
the Battery: 

"At this time (when the enemy was in retreat) Lieut. Cannon, with a 
section of the Connecticut Battery, reported himself, having just arrived on 
the ground. In my judgment, if the artillery had been on the ground 
when the action commenced we could have dislodged the enemy in a very 
short time and proceed to accomplish the object of the expedition; but the 
action itself lasted nearly two hours, and by the time I could recall the 
companies in pursuit of the enemy and again get ready to move, more than 
three hours had elapsed." 

By this report the failure to destroy the railroad bridge is charged, as 
facts prove, most unjustly on the Connecticut Battery, and Lieut. Cannon 
proved himself worthy of great praise instead of blame for the action he 
took. 

In the first place the delay was occasioned by not having flats at ferry, 
as was planned, to take the artillery over without dismantling the guns and 
detaching the horses, and not by any loitering to feed the horses. The 
Battery horses were not fed until Pocotaligo was reached, and in the march 
from the ferry to the scene of action only one stop was made, and that was 
at Garden's Corners, for about fifteen minutes. 

While watering the horses at the Corners a man told one of the com- 
rades that he was from Rhode Island, but had been South long enough to 
get all the d d Yankee blood out of him. His appearance gave evidence 



126 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

of his truth. He was tall, lean, walked and talked like a born South 
Carolinian. There was a fine spring of water on his place, and in his 
spring-house he kept milk which he offered the soldiers. So many stories 
were afloat about the poisoning of the springs when the hated Yankees were 
expected that before any soldier dare drink the man who had expelled all 
the Yankee blood from his veins was made drink first. 

Lieut. Cannon only received two orders from Col. Christ, the first 
to go forward to Pocotaligo, the second to retreat. It is an officer's duty to 
consider the men and horses under his command, for should they arrive at 
the scene of action incapacitated for work, the whole command might be 
placed in a disastrous position. Had Lieut. Cannon received orders to make 
a forced march at double c|uick, it would have been his duty to obey even if 
the horses died under the strain. As no such order was received, the officer 
made the march according to regulation, so that his horses might be fresh. 
The action was precipitated no doubt, but if Col. Christ had wanted the Bat- 
tery to hurry forward it was his duty to have sent a command by an orderly. 

The day was intensely hot, the roads sandy and a forced march would 
have killed every horse in the section, as it was the horses suffered intensely. 
One comrade says: "We got some idea how the horses suffered on that 
march when we took off the saddles and harness. The back and breast of 
every horse was blistered from the intense heat, and when the saddles and 
harness were removed the hair and hide pealed off with them, leaving the 
horses covered with raw sores, and it was nearly two weeks before those 
horses were again fit for duty." 

It is true that the Battery did not arrive until two hours after the 
infantry and cavalry, but the reason is not that given b} Col. Christ. In 
the first place the delay was caused by the failure to furnish means of 
transportation at the ferry. The Battery had to wait until the infantry and 
cavalry had crossed before it could commence to get the guns, caissons and 
horses across. The boats had to cross several times with the infantry and 
cavalry, and then when all were over it was found that none of the flats 
were large enough to carry the Battery without detaching the horses and dis- 
mounting gun carriages and limbers, and only a few pieces could be taken over 
at a time. The other troops had two hours advantage, for it took that time 
or the Battery to cross the river, owing to the lack of proper transportation. 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 127 

It appears, from the Confederate reports, that during the first two 
hours Col. Christ had only 76 Confederates opposing his 700 or 800 men. 
It was his over-estimate of the enemy's strength that caused the expedition 
to be a failure. It would seem that, if properly handled, 700 men in an 
open field ought to have driven back 76 of the enemy without the aid of a 
Light Battery. 

It will be seen that the fault was not one for w^hich Lieut. Cannon 
could in any way be held responsible, and it must be admitted that Lieut. 
Cannon, placed for the first time in a position of great responsibility, acted 
with good judgment, which should have received credit from his superiors. 
It is quite possible that Col. Christ was suffering from excitement when he 
made his report, for he w^as a man of a highly strung nervous temperament. 
One instance might be recalled. On one occasion Lieut. Cannon was in the 
Colonel's room when an orderly brought a report of an expected attack. Col. 
Christ became so nervous that instead of giving his commands, he took up a 
brush and commenced to brush his hair. Lieut. Cannon asked : 
" Would it not be well to order out the Battery?" 
The Colonel, still brushing vigorously at his hair, replied : 
"Perhaps it would be as well. Perhaps you had better order it out. " 
And this was the Colonel who cast a stigma on the First Connecticut 
Light Battery. 

It is always an advantage to hear the other side, and as this history is, 
as far as possible, an accurate one, telling the truth without fear or favor, 
we give the Confederate account of the engagement. Col. W. S. Walker, 
commanding the Third Military District of South Carolina, officially 
reports as follows: 

"When arriving on the field I found that Maj. J. H. Morgan, assisted 
by Capt. W. L. Trenholm's compan)^ (Rutledge Mounted Riflemen), 
stationed in the woods at Old Pocotaligo, t^^ men, and two companies (A 
and D, First Battalion Cavalry), 38 men, lining the left bank of Screven's 
Canal as skirmishers. A bridge across the canal had been previously 
torn up. Generals Pemberton, Drayton and Evans had been telegraphed 
of the enemy's advance. The remaining two companies of cavalry, with 
Capt. D. B. Hey ward's company, were held in reserve, with the dismounted 
horses, half a mile in the rear, all under the command of jSIaj. J. H. 



128 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

Morgan, with orders to be in readiness to charge the enemy when required. 
A number of these men were without long arms. 

"Upon the approach of the enemy's advance guard the dismounted 
cavalry companies opened fire with their shot guns at the distance of 40 yards. 
They returned the fire, and commenced deploying to the right and left near 
the canal. The Rutledge Mounted Riflemen fired deliberately one shot at a 
time at intervals as the enemy would expose themselves. Five companies 
crossed the road and deployed to the right. I should judge two companies 
deployed to the left. Both kept up a scattered and continuous fire with 
long-range guns. The small force of 76 men held their position with great 
spirit and tenacity for nearly three hours, from 10.30 to near 1.30. 

"At this time the enemy crossed the ditch to the right of Lieut. R. M. 
Skinner's command, thus flanking him, and enabling them to cut the 
Rutledge Mounted Riflemen from the causeway in the rear. Lieut. 
R. M. Skinner was shot down, and his men retired by the left under shelter 
of the ditch. I ordered the Rutledge Mounted Riflemen to retire, which 
they did in good order. Lieut. Skinner and Private Robert Stuart of the 
Mounted Riflemen were brought off seriously wounded. 

"On reaching the dismoimted horses the whole command retired in 
good order to a position three-quarters of a mile in rear of the former. 
Here we met the ammunition which had been sent for, and the whole force 
was re-supplied. The enemy had been held in check so long and the ground 
was so difificult for cavalry that I deployed two-thirds of my command upon 
the banks of a ditch crossing the road. As we retired I detailed a small 
party of the Rutledge 'Mounted Riflemen to remain in observation. I 
sent out six of the Rutledge Mounted Riflemen to the left under Lieut. L. J. 
Walker, and fifteen of the cavalry battalion under Maj. J. H. Morgan. I 
stationed two of the latter within 400 yards of a sentinel of the enemy, who 
were occupying Old Pocotaligo. 

"At 4 o'clock I received a re-inforcement of three pieces of alight 
battery, under Capt. Stephen Elliott, Jr., and two companies infantry. 
Companies I and F, of the Eleventh South Carolina Infantry Capts Allen 
C. Izzard and B. F. Wyman. I placed the battery in position to command 
the road, and formed the infantry as skirmishers along the banks of a long 
canal running at nearly right angles to the road. Learning from my 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 129 

videttes that the enemy were retiring I advanced in pursuit with my entire 
force. As the enemy were retiring in good order I had to feel my 
way carefully with skirmishers deployed to avoid ambuscade. Colonel 
Means' regiment of 400 men joined me in the night. 

" We continued the pursuit till 10 o'clock at night, when my advance 
guard was fired on by their rear guard. I rode up to the advance and was 
informed by Lieut. L. J. Walker, who was in command of the advance 
guard, that he felt assured they had halted at Garden's Corners and that the 
firing was by their outpost. The night was intensely dark, the country 
intricate and intersected by ditches, by roads and woods, and I was fearful 
of risking the chances of a night attack, in which it would be impossible to 
distinguish friend from foe. In my judgment there was too great risk of 
that most melancholy of disasters when friends shoot each other by mistake 
in a blind vicle'e. 

"The country was so broken that cavalry could not operate. My 
infantry was inferior in number to that of the enemy. It was reported to 
me that the infantry could not, after the fatigue of the day, sustain the 
march of twelve miles, which would have enabled them to get in the rear 
of the enemy by another route. Had they attempted it, the enemy, if 
disposed to retire, could cross before they reached it, as they had only three 
miles to march. The probability of a gunboat being stationed at Port 
Royal Ferry to protect their retreat was an element to be duly considered. 
I was forced unwillingly to the conclusion to halt and make the attack early 
in the morning. With this view I ordered Col. Phillips' Georgia Legion, 
which I was notified had arrived at Pocotaligo, to join me at daylight. 
The entire command was ordered to be ready to march at daylight. 

" Early in the morning I advanced as far as Port Royal Ferry, where I 
found the enemy had crossed during the night. Capt. Stephen Elliott, Jr., 
brought up his artillery and battered the ferry-house, which sheltered their 
pickets, and their flatboats, with which they had effected a crossing, at the 
range of two hundred and fifty yards. As stated by a corporal of the enemy, 
taken prisoner, their force consisted of twelve companies of infantry, viz. : 
Fiftieth Pennsylvania Regiment, one company of Eighth Michigan, one 
company of New York, one of cavalry and two pieces of artillery. The 
whole force I had actually engaged was 76 men rank and file. One hundred 



130 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

and ten were in reserve and holding horses, a considerable number only 
armed with sabres. The remainder of my force was on picket duty and 
watching other roads by which the enemy might approach. The smallness 
of the list of killed and wounded presented after such protracted firing is 
accounted for by the thorough protection afforded the skirmishers by the 
banks of the canal, of the shelter of which they availed themselves in 
retreating by a line parallel to that of the enemy, rejoining their horses by 
a circuit to the left." 

Col. Walker reports the casualties as two killed, six wounded and 
one missing. 

In acknowledging the report Maj. J. R. Waddy, Assistant- Adjutant- 
General of the Confederate Third District of South Carolina and Georgia, 
writes: 

"The Major-General commanding directs me to thank that portion of 
the troops engaged for their gallant, noble and daring conduct on that 
occasion in meeting and holding in check a much larger force for several 
hours, fighting the enemy at every available point with the usual gallantry, 
thus saving the railroad from capture." 



I'IKST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861— 1SG5 



131 



CHAPTER VI. 



SKIRMISHING ON JAMES ISLAND. 




OR a long time, in fact throughout the war, there had 
been a strong desire to capture, or punish, the City of 
Charleston, which was looked upon as the cradle of 
secession, and also to close its harbor to blockade 
runners. 

Elaborate and costly operations on the seaward 
side were maintained for a long time, but with very 
little success. The city was well protected naturally, the lowlands that 
stretch out several miles south of the harbor are intersected by many 
winding rivers and little inlets and broken up by swamps. 

The planters had selected a very pretty location about four and a half 
miles south of the city as a summer residential resort, which they had 
called Secessionville. The village lies on the highest ground of James 
Island and is bounded by a deep creek on one side and a shallow one on the 
other. On the neck of land between the two creeks an earthwork, some 
200 yards long, had been thrown up, and called Fort Pemberton. Similar 
protection was afforded by other earthworks between Secessionville and the 
southern shore of the harbor. 

In the early part of 1862 Gen. Benham had devised a plan for the 
capture of Charleston, and in ^Nlay he had written to the Secretary of War 
giving the plan in detail. It was a daring project, and even the dashing and 
brave Gen. Hunter was afraid that the force at the disposal of the command 
was not strong enough, especially as the transport service had been crippled 
by the Quartermaster's Department in New York. Gen. Benham, writing 



132 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

to Quartermaster-General jNIeigs, under date of May 23, 1862, expressed 
himself strongly on this matter. "One part of my project to have been 
executed in two days is not yet accomplished in six," he wrote; "and for 
the latter part of the project I cannot take 2,000 men with our two or three 
small steamers here, instead of 5,000 or more, as I need for safety. The 
consequence is that this movement, which was to have been a surprise, is 
undoubtedly now known to the enemy and may be defeated, or can only be 
accomplished at the probable cost of a large sacrifice of life, or it must be 
abandoned and Charleston still held by the rebels, and all because our 
means of movements are to be decided upon and taken away from us by the 
Quartermaster's Department in New York, where out necessities cannot 
be known." 

The importance of Charleston to the Confederates can well be under- 
stood from a letter dated May 23, 1862, and addressed to Gen. Robert E. 
Lee, by the Governor of South Carolina, in which he says : " It is of the 
last importance we should hold Charleston to the last extremity. . . . 
If you will give the orders that Charleston shall be defended, ez'en amid 
conflagration and blood, it shall be done. I speak what I believe is the 
deliberate feeling of the State when I say that we universally prefer it a 
city of ashes and the site defended to its being in the possession of the 
enemy. . . . Let it be boldly known that the defence is to be desperate." 

It will thus be seen that any attempt to capture the City of Charleston 
would not only be met by a determined resistance, but would prove costly 
in the great loss of life which was sure to occur. 

For some days rumors had been current in the camp at Beaufort that 
the attempt on Charleston would be made, and that the gallant soldiers of 
Gen. Isaac Stevens' division would occupy the post of honor. The hearts 
of the men throbbed with pleasurable excitement, and no hearts beat more 
joyously than those of the men who composed the First Connecticut Light 
Battery. 

On the last day of May orders were received for the right and centre 
sections of the Battery to be ready to go, at a moment's notice, on the trans- 
port and participate against Charleston, by way of James Island, co-operat- 
ing with the fleet that was to enter Charleston harbor. The left section, which 
had just returned from Pocotaligo, was to stay at Beaufort, and many of the 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 133 

comrades felt blue, for they wished for the excitement of action. Comrades 
Grisvvold, of Guilford, and Arthur E. Clark, of Milford, applied to the Lieu- 
tenant of the centre section and were transferred, much to their delight. 

The plan of campaign provided for a division under Gen. Stevens 
which was to go on transports up the Stono River to James Island, and a 
second division, under command of General Benham, to proceed up the 
Edisto River, landing at John's Island, and crossing, effect a junction with 
Stevens' division on James Island. The Connecticut Battery was assigned 
to Stevens' division and Hamilton's Battery to that of Gen. Benham. The 
entire force consisted of two divisions of infantry. First Massachusetts 
Cavalry, Hamilton's Battery, and two sections of the First Connecticut Light 
Battery. 

The Battery worked all Saturday night unloading the transport steamer 
Honduras of sutler stores to make room for their guns and horses. Boxes 
of smoked herring and other strongly flavored articles were frequently 
broken, and the result was that many of the comrades became sick. One 
comrade, in telling of that experience thirty-five years later, said: "I have 
never cared for smoked herring since; the memory of that sickening 
experience is always fresh." 

The Honduras towed a schooner full of troops to Hilton Head, arriving 
there Sunday night. Early on Monday morning a fleet, consisting of four 
river steamers, an ocean steamer, two gunboats and three schooners, left 
Hilton Head and anchored in Stono River abreast of James Island. The 
day was one of the most disagreeable ever experienced, the rain fell in 
torrents and the wind blew with the force of a hurricane. 

The looth Pennsylvania Volunteers had already landed and at once got 
into a skirmish with the enemy. Orders reached the Battery from Gen. 
Stevens to get two guns on shore at once and go to the assistance of the 
Roundheads who were having a lively time. 

General Stevens sent his quartermaster to superintend the unloading of 
the Battery. He proposed building steps so that the horses could walk 
from the transport ship, but the Connecticut men knew that they could 
accomplish the disembarkation quicker than by that way, so they declined 
the offer and pushed the horses overboard, some of the comrades being on 
shore to catch them as they reached land. In two hours the guns, caissons 



134 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

and horses of the right section were landed. The gunboats Pawnee and 
Unadilla did good service in covering the landing. 

The section started on a gallop for the fire line, making the first halt in 
an open field by. an old hedge where a line of infantry was located. The 
Battery was received with a ringing cheer from the 7th Connecticut 
Volunteers, who felt much encouraged, for the fire had been hotter than 
pleasant. At about one hundred and sixty yards from the hedge the 
Battery commenced to fire into the woods, where it was believed the 
Confederates were hiding, until the guns got hot. 

After shelling the woods on each side, Lieut Porter, acting on his 
own responsibility, for no order had been given by a superior officer, ordered 
the Battery into the woods. Capt. Stevens, of General Stevens' staff, 
galloped after the Battery and overtook it. 

"Where are you going, sir?" he asked as he rode up to Lieut. 
Porter's side. 

"To the front," Porter answered with patriotic fervor. 

"Don't you know that there is no infantry support within half a mile 
of you? What will you do if attacked?" 

"Never mind, if we meet the enemy we will action front and drive 
them before us." 

Lieutenant Porter continued to advance right into the enemy's lines. 

This has been said to be the first and only instapce during the war 
where alight battery was deployed as skirmishers in front of the main army, 
and it has always been a matter of wonder to those who witnessed it, or 
heard of Porter's deed, that the section was not captured. 

After some hard work and considerable difficulty the 3d New Hamp- 
shire advanced to the skirmish line. After skirmishing half a mile, a 
deserted gun was discovered on a causeway. Porter gave orders to take six 
horses and secure the abandoned gun. The moment the gun was reached 
the enemy's sharpshooters began to fire from every direction. The bullets 
whistled over their heads, the unpleasant music causing many a head to 
ache, but not a man flinched. Often a comrade would try to dodge the 
bullets, and once Comrade Joseph Fowler slid between his horses for 
momentary protection. As he did so, the sharp eye of one of the Ser- 
geants saw him, and, thinking him killed, put spurs to his little horse and 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 



135 




galloped as fast as possible for a stretcher. Half in jest, half in earnest, 
some of the company gossips asked if the Sergeant was dodging the 

bullets, others hinted that hishorsehad taken fright, 
but all who knew him well agreed that his ride to 
the rear was actuated by well-meant and kindly 
solicitude for the wounded, or killed, comrade. 

Comrades Joseph Fowler, William Fowler, 
Lewis Sykes, Henry Gillette, John Loomis, George 
W. Penhallow, Sergt. Tuttle and Henry Hunting- 
ton hitched on to the gun and tried to pull it, but 
at the first effort some of the harness broke. 
Not daunted, though the bullets were falling like 
hail, the comrades made three attempts, but only 
succeeded in breaking some harness. Orders 
were given to abandon the gun, and the drivers 
were quickly mounted and on a gallop making 
their way back to their comrades, leaving Hunt- 
ington, Tuttle and all the cannoneers to get away 
from the murderous shower of bullets as best 
they could. 

The cannoneers ran on into the wood and soon 
began to think that they had lost their way. Everything looked different. 
Instead of making a short cut to overtake the guns they seemed to be 
getting into the enemy's lines. 

' ' By G I think we are lost, " Sergeant Tuttle exclaimed. As he with 

Comrades Fowler and Huntington were standing close together trying 
to make out which way to go, a bullet passed close to the Sergeant cutting 
off a small twig from a tree which was right by his nose. Tuttle, with 
considerable earnestness, said : 

" I guess we had better get somewhere pretty quick." 
After some excitement the party found its 'way out of the woods and 
caught' up with the drivers who were ' engaged mending their harness 
in order to hitch to the guns. When the section got into camp the 
Sergeant who went for the stretcher was surprised to find Joe Fowler alive, 
for he had reported him killed. 



JOSEPH W. FOWLER, 
of Milford, Conn. 

Enlisted April i6, 1862; dis- 
charged April 16, 1865, time ex- 
pired. Comrade Fowler was 
with the first applicants at 
Camp Tvler, and expected to 
be sworn in at the same time 
as his brother, Wm. 'M. Fowler, 
but was rejected on account of 
being under age. He got per- 
mission to accompany the Bat- 
terv as Lieut. Cameron's ser- 
vant, and enlisted as soon as he 
reached the proper ags. 



136 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

While the right section had been engaged in these stirring and exciting 
adventures the centre section had unloaded its guns, ammunition, battery 
wagons and other equipments, and just before dark, in a pouring rain, went 
into camp, wet to the skin and as hungry as bears, not having had anything 
to eat all that day. 

The camp kettles were filled with coffee, the beef was stewing for soup, 
and a most fragrant odor whetted the appetites of the comrades when the 
order rang out : 

"Fall in, centre section. Hitch up!" 

With a sigh the comrades left the tempting coffee and stew and started 
to haul out the guns and drag the horses from the mud. 

The supper was to follow as soon as ready, and with this promise fresh 
in their minds the comrades dragged themselves along to relieve the right 
section. The section was found and relieved, and then supper was anxiously 
awaited, but alas, it never came; the relieved section thought it very kind 
of the centre to get the supper ready and gladly partook of the appetiz- 
ing food. 

Comrade Griswold, writing of that night, says: "What a night that 
was — the enemy bivouacked within a stone's throw, and we stood or sat all 
night in the pouring rain, weary and almost starved, waiting for the break 
of day. During the night Col. Fenton, of the 8th Michigan, whose head- 
quarters were with us, gave the Battery a canteen of whiskey, a thimbleful 
of which was the first whiskey I had ever tasted. Morning came, the 
enemy had disappeared ; no rations were sent up, and we moved to find the 
enemy, our Battery shelling the woods ahead of the skirmishers. We had 
quite a lively encounter with the enemy, and toward night fell back and 
went into camp, but still without rations; nearly forty-eight hours without 
food. Later some coffee and camp kettles were sent up; we rushed to the 
river and filled the kettles and put them over the fire to boil, and made our 
coffee. But what a disappointment; the water in the river was salt, and we 
could not drink our coffee. About this time we heard a cry; some of our 
troops were pursuing a wild steer. We started in chase with our revolvers 
drawn, and soon the steer was shot, and a long-legged comrade succeeded 
in reaching the carcass and securing a part of the liver, which he divided 
with me. We started on a run for our camp fire, and in twenty minutes 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 137 

afier the steer had been shot we were eating toasted liver, without any salt. 
For that meal what agony I endured for a week, until the doctor succeeded 
in bringing me relief. I remained on duty, but it seemed as though a 
ten-pound cannon ball lay in the pit of my stomach," 

In the skirmish on that day. Comrade Hotchkiss was thrown from his 
horse and had to be taken from the field on a stretcher. It was found that 
his left shoulder was sprained and his right hand broken. All night he lay 
in his tent on the ground wet to the skin from the heavy rains. 

The gunboats shelled the enemy as long as possible, but soon it became 
imsafe, for the lives of the Unionists were endangered. 

Gen. Stevens had sent an order to Lieut. O. H. Howard, who was on 
board the gunboat Unadilla: 

"Fire as rapidly as possible and we will take their guns " 

Lieut. Howard faithfully obeyed the order until he got the message: 

"Cease firing! " 

Very soon after the Lieutenant's heart was gladdened by the report: 

"We have taken three of their guns." 

That the skirmish was a severe one is proved from the official 
reports of the enemy. Lieut. -Col. Ellison Capers, 24th South Carolina 
Infantry, Confederate Army, reports: "I left the camp before dayhght 
with four companies of the Twenty-fourth, the Marion Rifles, Pee-Dee 
Rifles, Evans Guard and Colleton Guard to remove the guns of Capt. 
Chichester's Battery, which were bogged in the marsh at the causeway 
below Rivers'." (It was one of these guns that Lieut. Porter tried to 
capture). "Arrived at Secessionville, it was reported to me by Col. Lamar 
that our pickets had been driven in to Rivers' and that the guns were 
covered by the enemy. I reported this to the General, who ordered me to 
take my companies and drive him back until the fire of his boats obliged me 
to withdraw. I moved down to Rivers' and found the picket force, 
consisting of the Beauregard Light Infantry and the Charleston Riflem.en, 
at that point, and the enemy's advance in the pines just in their front. I 
ordered these companies to join my command, and formed my line at the 
head of the causeway, facing Legare's; threw out the Marion Rifles, Capt. 
Sigwald, as skirmishers, and ordered him to push on and draw the fire of 
the enemy. This was well and promptly done, the Marions soon occupying 



138 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

the pines and the enemy's skirmishers retiring. I crossed the causeway by 
flank and deployed to the other side, throwing my companies forward on 
the right, when we engaged the enemy warmly until, our fire becoming too 
severe, he fell back to the edge of the wood on this side of Legare's old field. 

" After a half-hour's firing in this position we moved into the wood 
and drove through, the enemy retreating across the old field to the houses 
beyond. Our way was now unobstructed, the enemy occupying the Legare 
houses beyond, and the long hedge to the east of them, from which he 
poured in a strong fire, most of which passed entirely over us. A regiment, 
which I afterward ascertained to be the 28th Massachusetts, constituted his 
reserve, and was posted below the negro houses, a quarter of a mile to the 
south. I determined, by a rapid charge on the main buildings, to cut off 
the' advance from this support, the only difiSculty being that at Legare's 
we would be open to the river and within half a mile. But I resolved to 
attempt it. Just at this period Lieut. -Col. Gaillard with his command, 
about 124 strong, reported to me, and I assigned him a position and ordered 
the Evans Guard, Capt. Gooding; Charleston Riflemen, Lieut. Lynch; Irish 
Volunteers, Capt. Ryan; Beauregard Light Infantry, Capt. White; Sumter 
Guard, Lieut. J. Ward Hopkins, and the Calhoun Guard, Capt. Miles, to 
perform this duty, while Lieut. -Col. Gaillard took command of the centre 
and left as a reserve. It was well and nobly performed, 22 prisoners being 
captured, including a Captain and Sergeant, all of the lootli Pennsylvania 
Regiment. The prisoners in our possession and the enemy driven back to 
his support (which promptly took position in and behind a row of negro 
houses), the boats opened a brisk fire on us, while we received our only 
damaging fire from the negro huts. I therefore ordered a retirement to the 
woods, which was performed in good order and under cover of fire from our 
left, where the remainder of the Charleston Battalion, with three of my 
companies, were posted. I deemed it proper to retire the force be3'ond the 
causeway to Rivers', where I took position by the General's directions. I 
would have retained the wood had I had a force sufficient to cover my right, 
which was open to the enemy, and immediately under the fire of his boats." 

^laj-Gen. J. C. Pemberton reported that the Unionists were 10,000 
strong on James Island, v/ith three light batteries and a siege train, and as 
niany more on John's Island. After the skirmish in which the Connecticut 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—65. 139 

Battery took part, Gen. Pemberton paid the Battery a compliment by writ- 
ing to Brig.-Gen. W. D. Smith, saying: "Should the enemy attempt the 
wood with artillery, you will retain it at any cost, and endeavor to capture 
his artillery." 

Gen. Pemberton was determined to hold the woods if it were at all 
possible. After the second skirmish he wrote to Brig. -Gen. Smith: 

"Can you not take the enemy's batteries, or at least disarrange his 
plans? You must keep up a constant skirmishing with him. It will 
accustom the men to fire, which is essential, if it effects nothing else. Is it 
possible to burn the woods I have been so anxious to hold? You can get 
resin and turpentine and the wind is favorable. Give me your own and 
Gen. Gist's views. My own are decided as to the importance of driving him 
from those woods in some way, or at least of exposing him to our artillery. 
Your pickets must be very much on the alert — the officer of the day 
constantly moving. Have you field officers of the day? I shall get a little 
more powder to-night, but if it is wasted by firing at gunboats from 
Secessionville it might as well not be here. I am informed Col. Lamar has 
been returning their fire again. You must put a stop to this." 

It will be seen that the enemy's condition was desperate, but Pemberton 
was blamed for his over-anxiety and a strong petition was sent to Gen. 
Robert E. Lee asking for his removal. 

It had been intended to make an advance on Charleston on the 5th of 
June, but that was found to be impossible. Lieut. Seward, in his reminis- 
cences, says: 

"The plan of attack was to make an advance on Charleston the next 
day, v.'e having the right of the line to push on to Secessionville, capturing 
Fort Pemberton. Gen. Benham's division, starting from Grimball's, two 
miles above our landing, had the left of the line. That division was sup- 
posed to land on James Island, at Grimball's, at the same time we did, but a 
powerful rainfall for two days and nights, together with the bad roads, so 
delayed them that it was three days before the head of the column hove in 
sight. The delay of that division was fatal to our dash on Charleston, 
giving the enemy plenty of time to rush up re-inforcements, and by the time 
we were ready to advance the enemy had massed, between us and Charles- 



140 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

toi, more troops than we had, consequently our plan had to be abandoned, 
and the entire command went into camp as an army of occupation would." 

In explaining the cause of the delay in the landing of Gen. Benham's 
division on James Island, Col. John L. Chatfield, 6th Connecticut Volunteers, 
in his oflficial report says: "We were ordered from Edisto Island on the 
night of June i, taking three days' rations and nothing but blankets, leaving 
all camp equipage behind. We crossed over to Seabrook Island, marching 
the next day to a point opposite John's Island, where we bivouacked until 2 
o'clock in the morning of the 5th, when we marched across John's Island in 
the midst of a very heavy rain storm with the mud knee deep, reaching 
Legareville, on the Stono, a distance of 15 miles, at 2 p m. On the evening 
of the 8th and morning of the 9th we proceeded up the Stono to Grimball's 
plantation, on James Island, about four and one-half miles from Charles- 
ton, where we landed in the face of a severe fire from the enemy." 

The enemy attacked the 6th Connecticut almost as soon as it landed, and 
a skirmish of an hour's duration led to the repulse of the Confederates. The 
Connecticut Light Battery did good service in that skirmish, as has been ac- 
knowledged by all who took part. Sergt. Cadwell, of the 6th, in his "War 
Record of the 6th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry," says: 

"The Connecticut Battery was here, doing excellent service under 
Capt. Rockwell, and the gunboats shelled the enemy over our heads, both 
of which proved valuable assistance to i:s." (Page 41.) 

Comrade Griswold, writes of that time: "We went into camp and 
had two or three skirmishes daily with the enemy and were called out 
nights by alarms on picket posts. We suffered fearfully for want of good 
drinking water; it was forbidden, by orders, to drink any unless it had 
first been boiled, and then we could only do so by closing our nostrils. We 
lay nights between the cotton rows, sometimes only our heads out of water, 
and during the middle of the day suffered from the intense heat of the sun. 
Still we had some amusement; one was seeing who could ride the balky 
mules. On the 14th of June we had a severe engagement with the enemy 
and many of the infantry were wounded. An incident of that engagement 
I shall never forget. A wounded soldier of the 7th Connecticut Infantry 
was going to the rear, carrying in both hands a ball some one inch in 
diameter that in some inconceivable way had struck him so that it entered 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 



141 



only tinder the skin, making a sack, in which he carried it until he got into 
camp and Dr. Bacon cut it out." 

While engaged in throwing up earthworks in front of the picket lines 
near the bank of the river on the south east side of the island, a soldier of 
the 79th New York was killed by a shell from the enemy's battery. On 
examination it was found that he had not received even a scratch, his breath 
had been stopped by the concussion. 

Some James and Parrot guns had been mounted during the night of 
Friday, June 13, in the new fort, but the noise of the wagons drawing the 
ammunition had reached the enemy, and as the sun began to break, the 
guns from Fort Pemberton boomed out and the Unionist earthworks were 
vigorously shelled. The Light Battery was harnessed at 3 a. m. in read- 
iness but did not go out. In the afternoon, however, the Battery opened on 
the fort with their rifled guns and continued the fire until late at night. 

While some of the comrades were at service on the Sunday, which was 
conducted by Captain Rockwell, orders reached one section to open on the 
enemy should an attempt be made to remove the old hulk or floating battery 
which had been used by the section the day before. An enemy's steamer ap- 
peared to tow it away, when the Battery opened on it and drove off the enemy. 

Comrade Joseph Doolittle loves to tell a story 
of a kicking horse he had in that second skirmish 
on James Island. He says: "I drove the leader 
team in the centre section; Comrade A. E. Leon- 
ard, middle, and Comrade Jack Monarch the 
wheel team. I had the old sorrel kicker for the 
off-horse, a horse that would kick higher and 
oftener than any living thing I ever saw. She 
would kick when she started on the run, kick 
when she stopped, and when it did no good to 
kick. I remember when we were coming oft" the 
field and were back nearly to the caissons — I looked 
over my shoulder and saw two grape shots coming. 
I dodged them. Next day I told the comrades of 
this, and Comrade James Holly spoke up and 
said: 'Those were not grape shots, they were the sorrel mare's heels.' 




JOSEPH R. DOOLITTLE. 

of Southington. 
Served three months in Rifle 
Co. C, 3d C. V Enlisted Light 
Battery Oct. iS, !86i ; discharged 
Feb. 17, 186:5. physical disability. 
Re-enlisted Jan. 2, 1864; promoted 
Corporal Nov. 20, 1864. Mustered 
out June II, 1865. 



14-2 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

"I believe he was right, for I found oi;t that we were out of range of 
grape shot." 

Comrade Sloan tells of a close call he and his comrades experienced 
after one of the skirmishes. He says : "One day we had a skirmish 
which was not very severe, and as we started back to camp a 
thunder shower burst upon us. We were crawling along, occasionally hav- 
ing to dodge the shots fired from a light battery in our direction, when 
what appeared to be a shell burst within a few feet of us shattering a large 
tree. We thought we had passed out of range, and the sensation was so un- 
pleasant that our blood began to run cold and our knees were rather shaky, 
for if we were to be killed we wanted to die with our faces to the enemy. 
The next day we found the tree had been shattered by lightning and not 
by a shell." 

That was not the only time the comrades mistook the thunder of 
Heaven's artillery for the guns of the earthly enemy. One night, when the 
rain was falling incessantly and the whole country round lighted up by vivid 
flashes of lightning, the men were startled and the horses plunged and 
reared through fright, while the very earth seemed to shake as the thunder 
rolled and rumbled. The storm ceased for a while, and the Battery halted 
at a little opening in the woods, when an intensely vivid flash of lightning, 
followed by a terrific clap of thunder, caused the comrades to believe that 
the enemy had opened fire on them from the fort. They ducked and covered 
as though they had been surprised by the foe. It was only when another 
flash shot across the dark sky that they realized that the artillery had been 
in the clouds, and not behind the earthworks of the Southern brethern who 
were seeking to destroy the nation. 

One day the scouts reported that the enemy was engaged in building 
a fort near the bank of the river. General Stevens wanted to see for 
himself what was being done, and, accompanied by Capt. Rockwell and 
Corporal Scranton of the Light Battery, rode down to the river, hitched 
their horses and crawled along the bank through the thick brush until they 
got so near the fort they could hear the soldiers talking. There were only 
a few men at work and General Stevens was able to make his observation 
and return safely. It was a daring thing for a General to do, but Gen. 
Stevens and Capt. Rockwell knew no fear. They were both in deadly 
earnest and cared nothing for personal danger. 







CHAPTER VII. 



BATTLE OF SECESSION- 
VILLE. 



H ETHER the battle fought at 
Secessionville was a flagrant 
disobedience of orders, carry- 
ing with it the most serious 
consequences or not, it will 
ever be remembered by those who took part in it as one of momentous 
interest. During the engagement courage was displayed which, while it 
may have been ec^ualled in other battles, was never excelled; men foug-ht 
like heroes ; volunteers who had scarcely experienced active warfare acted 
with all the cool valor of veterans, while officers and men proved that they 
were actuated by biit one motive, a desire to serve their country and obey 
orders with enthusiasm. 



144 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

On the night of the 15th of June, 1862, Capt. Rockwell was sent for to 
proceed at once to the headquarters of General Isaac I. Stevens, who occupied 
a building close to the Battery, to receive verbal as well as written orders for 
an important movement which was to be made. 

The orders gave so little indication of what was expected of the Battery 
in its first important action, being in general to follow a certain regiment 
and keep in advance of another, that Capt. Rockwell said: 
" General, may I ask what is the plan of battle ? " 

" Damn it, sir, there isn't any plan," the General replied very emphat- 
ically. " You will fire when you get a chance, and be careful not to hit any 
of our own men." 

It seemed quite clear that General Stevens did not approve of the 
movement. 

A little later the order was given for the First Connecticut Light Battery 
to turn out and hitch up. That something more than a skirmish was antici- 
pated the men well knew, for the order came to muffle the wheels so that no 
rattling noise would be made. 

The camp was about three miles from the enemy's battery at Secession- 
ville. The advance movement of the division was necessarily slow and 
stops were very frequent and tedious, while the several regiments were 
being arranged in order of attack. The night was cloudy and very dark, 
and all combined to make the hour and a half before the actual attack very 
tr34ng to the nerves. 

The orders of Brig. -Gen. H. W. Benham, who commanded the 
forces, were to form Stevens' entire division before the break of day, in 
secrecy and silence, at the outer pickets, and at break of day, about 4 
o'clock, to move rapidly on the enemy's works with a view of carrying them 
by a coup de main. In the attack it was arranged that all the available 
forces of General Wright's division and Williams' brigade were to move to 
its support as soon as the fire from Stevens' attack was heard. Stevens' 
command was all in order of battle before 3.30 o'clock at the outer pickets, 
the head of the column being within rifle range of the enemy's advance 
position. 

The first brigade was commanded by Colonel Fenton, and consisted of 
the 8th Michigan, the 7th Connecticut and the 28th Massachusetts. The 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 145 

other brigade in support, commanded by Colonel Leasiire, consisted of the 
79th Highlanders, the looth Pennsylvania and the 46th New York. A 
storming party, consisting of Companies C and F, of the 8th Michigan, was 
in the advance, followed by Company E, Serrell's Engineers. Four guns 
of the Connecticut Light Battery followed the first brigade and Company H, 
ist Massachusetts Cavalry followed in the rear. 

Lieutenant Porter being detailed to General Stevens' staff, and as 
Lieutenant Metcalf was sick. Lieutenant Seward became, necessarily, the 
ranking officer and therefore in command of the right section. The centre, 
or howitzer section, being sent into action first. Lieutenant Porter speedily 
took command and with distinguished courage and ability proved himself an 
able officer on that momentous occasion. 

After numerous halts the Battery reached the corner of the cotton field, 
into which it turned about daybreak. Tlie infantry had succeeded in sur- 
prising and capturing the enemy's outer pickets without alarm, and the 
order was given to go on double quick gallop until within about 500 
yards of Fort Pemberton, which has also been called the Tower Fort, and 
then to cross a cotton field obliquely to a position directly in support of the 
8th Michigan Infantry regiment. 

The jolting was fearful beyond description, the horses tore across the 
cotton rows, jumping over them as though they were hurdles in a steeple- 
chase, but the guns and caissons rocked and jolted as though each minute 
they would turn over. It was an experience none would care to repeat, 
but the excitement of battle took away fear and made discomfort almost 
a luxury. 

General Stevens, describing the opening of the battle, says: 

"At break of day, or about 4 o'clock, it being a dark and cloudy 
morning, the entire command was in motion. My aide-de-camp, Lieut. 
Benjamin R. Lyons, with a negro guide, was at the head of the storming 
column. My aide-de-camp, Capt. W. T. Lusk, guided the 28th Massachu- 
setts. The command pushed forward, surprised and captured the pickets 
at the house occupied by them, entered the fields beyond, and as they came 
within the effective range of grape and musketry pushed forward into line 
of battle, and the entire 8th Michigan Regiment, at about 100 yards from 
the enemy's works, the main body being preceded only about 40 feet by the 



146 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

two storming companies, received his fire of grape, musketry and canister. 

"At this period of time the entire three regiments of Fenton had passed 
the hedge some 500 yards from the enemy's works, and I was engaged in 
directing the attacking and supporting force of Col. Leasure. They were 
ordered to keep to the left and push up to the work, regiment following 
regiment, as in the case of Col. Fenton. Up to this period not a shot had 
been fired, although five men of the Sth Michigan had been wounded by 
the pickets, who were surprised and captured. 

" The firing now became general and continuous in front. The advance 
of the Sth Michigan was on the parapet. The light battery of Rockwell's 
was immediately pushed to the front and took its position at the second 
hedge, and the Highlanders, led by Morrison, seeing the hot fire to which 
the Sth Michigan was exposed, pushed forward at the double quick, and 
moving from the left to the right of the field entered a narrow opening, 
gained the parapet to the right of the point reached by the Sth Michigan, 
and shot down the enemy whilst serving at the guns. 

"The front on which the attack was made was narrow, not over 200 
yards in extent, stretching from the marsh on the one side to the marsh on 
the other. It was at the saddle of the peninsula, the ground narrowing very 
suddenly at this point from our advance. On either hand were bushes on 
the edge of the marsh for some little distance. The whole space at the 
saddle was occupied by the enemy's works, impracticable abatis on either 
hand, with carefully prepared troiis-de-loiip on our left and in front a ditch 
seven feet deep, with a parapet of hard-packed earth, having a relief of 
some nine feet above the general surface of the ground. On the fort were 
mounted six guns, covering the field of our approach. The whole interior 
of the work was swept by fire from the rifle pits and defenses in the rear, 
and the flanks of the work itself and the bushes lining the marsh on either 
hand were under the fire of riflemen and sharpshooters stationed in the 
woods and defenses lying between the work and village of Secessionville." 

With the order to charge a shout rang out from the regimental 
commands: "Forward the Michiganders! " followed closely with "Forward 
the Highlanders!" while the gallant men of the Nutmeg State shouted 
themselves hoarse in their cry for the Connecticut men to be at the front. 
Each regiment was anxious for the honor of being the first to motmt the 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 147 

parapet of the enemy's fortification, but the hardy woodmen from Michigan 
mounted the parapet long ahead of the others, and just as the garrison was 
ready for action. During the advance the enemy opened upon the Unionist 
lines an exceedingly destructive fire of grape, musketry and canister, but the 
Michig.mders pushed forward like veterans, divided only to the right and 
left by a sweeping torrent from the enemy's main gun in front. This gun 
was a large sea coast 15 -inch howitzer, and the enemy filled it with chains, 
glass bottles, scrap iron, horseshoes and other deadly missiles. Every shot 
did terrible execution. The Michiganders were guided by Lieut. Lyons of 
the Commanding General's staff, who had been chosen because of his 
superior knowledge of the route gained by his daring personal reconnais- 
sances. He dashed to the front and with a " Come on, boys," displayed his 
willingness and ability to guide them into, as well as up to, the fort. A 
fierce hand-to-hand encounter was engaged in, the Volunteers fighting like 
veterans and winning an imperishable name for themselves. 

The howitzer section of the Battery on reaching the field moved 
obliquely in rear of the 8th Michigan and the Highlanders, and took up 
a position on the left of the Michigan regiinent about five hundred yards 
from the tower in the fort, and opened fire upon the enemy's earthwork 
very soon after the enemy had commenced firing. Officers and men vied 
with each other in enthusiastic patriotism. A ditch was reached, and on 
the other side was an embankment of brush and dirt. Some thought the 
Battery could never get over that obstruction, but Lieut. Porter laughed at 
the difficulty and declared that he could tear down the bank with his hands. 
Suiting the action to the word he commenced pulling down the earth with 
his hands, and the men in his command followed his example, while all 
around them bullets fell like hail and shells exploded again and again. 
Company E, ist New York Engineers, under command of Capt. Alfred 
Sears, came up and rendered assistance, opening a road through the dike to 
the left and front of the Battery. The enemy discovered this proceeding 
and determined to prevent the passage of the Light Battery, firing 
constantly on both the engineers and the Battery. The firing was dreadful, 
but Capt. Sears kept his men, who were unemployed, under cover of the 
dike, and by carefully watching the enemy to protect those at w^ork he 
succeeded in making an embrasure for one field-piece, and the enemy 



148 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

directed his attention to that one piece, but without dismounting it. 

An accident happened to one of the guns and limbers. In hurrying 
across a deep ditch it capsized. Such an imfortunate occurrence might 
have caused a panic had not the comrades been feverishl}^ excited. Gun 
and limber was quickly lifted up ready to go on with the other. How 
was it done ? Not a man, officer or private could tell. Comrade Lord often 
says that it seemed to him that he and Comrade Scranton lifted it up them- 
selves. Comrade Holly says that a solid shot struck the ground close to 
the capsized gun, making the dirt fly and knocking him down. A cry went 
up that he was killed, but he was on his feet again in a moment, none the 
worse for his experience. 

After getting into position the howitzers poured a galling fire into the 
fort and the enemy realized that the Connecticut men knew how to handle 
their guns. 

The right section arrived upon the field at double quick and was 
advancing to the support of the centre section when Captain Rockwell 
received orders to send one piece to support Lieutenant Porter and to plant 
one gun in the road to protect the left flank. Accordingly one piece, 
under command of Lieutenant Seward joined the howitzers and the three 
guns did some effective work under conditions which tried men's souls. 
Missiles of every description fell all round, men dodged the bullets and the 
shrieking shells. Comrades felt faint as they saw the big swaths cut 
through the ranks of the infantry every time the guns belched forth. 

"My God, aren't the bullets flying thick," Comrade Holly exclaimed, 
and the zip! zip! zip! sounded so often that it seemed like one continuous 
shriek. 

The yth Connecticut, commanded by Colont-l Hawley, followed close 
upon the 8th Michigan, having orders to protect the left of the Michigan 
regiment. Into a shower of rifle and grape shot the 7th Connecticut 
pushed its way, overcoming the obstacles of the low bushes and marsh. 

In the woods on the right, near an angle of the fort, a large force of the 
enemy's sharpshooters, protected by rifle pits and a house, kept up a 
continued fire on the Battery and the advancing regiments. 

It was impossible to contend against such odds and the regiments 
"faced about and walked steadily, faced by the rear rank, and followed by 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861-1865 149 

rifle balls, to the second hedge, where, by General Stevens' order, a halt was 
made. After a time," says Colonel Hawley, "the General called us back 
to the first hedge." 

The swampy groimd, the narrow space in which the men had to charge, 
made it impossible to form a line of battle, the forces were massed together, 
which impeded its progress as well as destroyed its efficiency. It was then 
that General Stevens sent the order to call the men off. Lieutenant-Colonel 
Hawley in his official report says: "Captain Stevens brought me an order 
from General Stevens to call the men off. They could not resist the 
temptation offered by the enemy's men at the guns, and a portion of 
the right was slow to get the order and fall back, preferring to pick 
off gunners and riflemen." 

Lieut-Col. Frank Graves, commanding the 8th Michigan Regiment, 
in his official report thus describes the charge: 

"The regiment soon arrived at the open field in front of the enemy's 
works, when I formed my advance and battalion companies into line, and 
moved forward at a charge bayonet at the battery. By this time we could 
see the enemy formed in his intrenchments ready to receive us. The lines 
advanced steadily and in good order to within musket range, when the 
enemy delivered a close and deadly fire of musketry along his whole front, 
accompanied with rapid and heavy discharges of grape and canister and the 
fire of the sharpshooters from cover. Still the regiment moved rapidly 
on, preserving their order and leaving the ground in the rear strewn with 
their dead and wounded, and did not stop until they gained the parapet 
and delivered their fire upon the enemy in his works; but they were 
unable to contend against such great odds, and being entirely unsupported 
for a considerable time they fell back slowly, contesting every inch of 
ground, a short distance, where they maintained ground until ordered to 
retreat, which they did in good order, although under fire. The regiment, 
however, had become much scattered, owing to the great number of 
officers who had fallen. A portion of the regiment was again formed upon 
the colors, and took up position in support of a section of the First Con- 
necticut Battery. 

"The veteran coolness with which the Sth Michigan Volunteers moved 
forward upon that fort and the literal execution of their instructions under 
such trying circumstances were most admirable." 



150 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

As we read the cool and business-like report, our memory goes back 
to the scene and we recall the terrible slaughter; we see again the men 
filling up the ranks as their comrades were shot down ; we look upon the 
ground strewn with dead and dying; we hear the cries of the wounded, 
the groans of the dying, and yet the memory comes back that not a man of 
the living faltered, not one wanted to fall back. Oh, the glory of such 
magnificent courage! The First Light Battery has ever been proud 
to have its name linked with such heroic soldiers. 

Instances of individual bravery could be recalled which would equal 
those told of the ancient warriors. One tall soldier of the 8th, who was 
nick-named "Ramrod" reached over the embrasure of the fort during the 
action, and, catching a Confederate by the hair of his head, pulled him out 
of the fort and passed him down to his comrade, saying, "Take him away, 
I will have another for you in a minute." 

General Stevens gave orders that the troops were to re-form on the 
hedge nearest the works, while those regiments which had suff^ered most, 
viz., the 8th Michigan, the 79th Highlanders and the 7th Connecticut, were 
to re-form at the second hedge. 

At the second hedge, at a distance of about 1,500 yards, the two sections 
of the Battery took position and fired constantly and regularly until the 
order was given for the howitzer section to advance with the infantry and 
support them, firing canister. 

While this order was being carried out Col. Williams arrived, having 
been sent by Brig. -Gen. Wright to support and reinforce Gen. vStevens. 
Col. Williams was ordered to maintain a position he had taken on the flank, 
and to do the best, in concert with the attack by the first division, the cir- 
cumstances of the ground permitted. 

Some little time was occupied in re-forming the line at the hedge near- 
est the works. The remains of two or three companies of the 8th Michigan 
and of several companies of the Highlanders never once abandoned the 
advance positions on the right and left of the enemy's works till ordered to 
do so at a subsequent period of the action. The 7th Connecticut moved up 
like gallant heroes, and as Gen. Stevens says, " there was not the least panic 
or running from the field on the part of a single regiment." 

The uneven ground, the cotton rows being often two feet high, the 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 151 

destructive fire of grape and musketry from the enemy, the narrow front of 
the peninsula, caused the work of re-forming- to be slower than it would have 
been under other circumstances. The troops were eager and anxious to be 
again charging the foe, and the Light Battery chafed at being kept at such 
a long distance from the enemy, but a wild cry of joy went up from those 
gallant men when Gen. vStevens again ordered the Battery to advance. 

" Connecticut boys, go in, and the day is ours! " he shouted, and a wild 
huzza was given in response. This time both sections advanced to within 
500 yards of the Confederate fort. 

The march at double quick was again across those terrible cotton rows, 
and Comrade Griswold declares that it was a march never to be forgotten. 

"We had to cross a cotton field, some 800 yards," he says, "and the 
enemy was raking that field with cannonades and the sea coast howitzer that 
had been taken from the Government, and which they loaded with chains, 
glass, railroad iron and every conceivable missile. The cannoneers were 
not mounted, the drivers put spurs and whip to their horses, Corp Scranton 
mounted one of the limbers, and, sitting astride, managed to hold on. I 
grasped the muzzle of the gun, with my thumb over the sight pin. How 
those horses went! It seemed as though every stride I made could have 
been measured in rods." 

Comrade Scranton corroborates this account and says: "We went 
across that field on a jump. I grabbed hold of the limber chest, Comrade 
Griswold caught hold of the muzzle of a gun, and we went over those cotton 
rows in a manner that was trying to the horses as well as the comrades. I 
think I was the only man who mounted as we went up." 

When the guns arrived at the breastworks, some five hundred yards 
from the Tower, Lieut-Col. Hawley personally assisted Corp. Scranton and 
Comrade Griswold, and called on some of his men to help get the other 
guns in position, until the cannoneers, a few seconds later, hurried breath- 
lessly on the scene. 

Col. Hawley stood near the centre section while the Battery was shelling 
the fort and cautioned the comrades not to expose themselves more than 
necessary. 

"I'll tell you when I see smoke from the enemy's guns, and you can 
cover." he told them. 



152 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

He watched the Confederate guns as well as the effect of the Battery 
shots on the enemy and was thus able to keep the Battery posted about the 
damage their shots did, and in some instances gave special directions how 
to direct the fire to make it more effective. The guns were in battery close 
by a ditch which had been dug by the Confederates, and the dirt thrown out 
of it afforded a little protection from the pieces of shells, glass bottles, old 
horse shoes, nails and chains which fell, like hail, round the men's heads 
pretty thick. It was behind this pile of dirt that the cannoneers would 
dodge at a signal given by Col. Hawley. 

"We worked the guns lively," says Comrade Griswold, "and most of 
the time in a stooping position, numbers one and two seldom getting outside 
the wheels when the gun was fired. I was number two, and yelled with 
pain every time our gun was fired after it got warmed up, as at every 
discharge it was like a sharp knife through the head from ear to ear," 

Never was battery niore exposed to a heavy fire. Furious at the 
excellent work done by the Connecticut men, the enemy was determined to 
silence the Battery and a heavy fire of grape, canister and solid shot was 
poured from the enemy's earthworks at a distance of less than five hundred 
yards. It seemed almost miraculous that none was killed. The two 
howitzers were firing so rapidly that the gims became very hot, and Comrade 
Lord, who was on his knees, cursing like a pirate, says Comrade Scranton, 
"was burnt as he loaded it. ' By G — ,' exclaimed Lord, 'It is so hot it 
sizzesi 

By this time the ammunition was beginning to fail and Capt. Rockwell 
sent Lieut. Seward back to camp for a fresh supply. 

The centre section got out of ammunition and was ordered to retire. 
"I discovered a limber nearby," says Comrade Griswold, "which I supposed 
was our caisson limber, and grabbed hold of it so as to get to the rear as 
fast as possible, but when about the centre and most exposed part of the 
field, where grape and canister were fairly ploughing up the field, a 
command rang out : 

" ' Halt ! Where are you going with that limber? ' 

"It was Capt. Rockwell, I saluted, and said, 'Captain, the centre is out 
of ammimition and ordered to retire.' 

" ' Open that limber chest." 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 153 

" I did so, and what was my surprise to see it full of rifled ammunition. 
The Captain saw 1 was surprised, a smile played upon the corner of his 
mouth, and he said 'All right, Griswold,' and then turned to the drivers 
and ordered them to turn about and find their pieces." 

The right section, on the left of the howitzer section, was doing good 
work firing canister and shell, and with deadly precision, making a record 
for old Connecticut's First Light Battery. 

The guns were doing terrible work and the men fought like heroes. 
Again and again the infantry charged, only to be driven back, but with a 
stern persistence they rallied and returned to the assault. 

The extra limber of ammunition was hurrying to the front, the drivers 
were whipping their horses, but on getting nearer the guns they pulled up so 
that they might stop at the right place. It was just as the horses stopped 
that a shell fired from a mountain howitzer struck and a scene in 
which tragedy and comedy mingled was enacted. Comrade Holly describes 
it in this manner : 

"I saw a shell fired from one of those mountain howitzers and I slid off, 
and I didn't get off by detail either, but I jumped. I had the lines in my 
right hand, and my head struck the groimd, but I was on ni}^ feet in a 
moment. I looked around and the grapeshot had gone right through the 
saddle without injuring the horse. I felt a bit shaky, for I had crossed that 
field amid showers of shot and shell six times already, and if it had not been 
for a drink of whiskey I got from Comrade Upson I should have been 
laid up. It is wonderful to think that not a man in our Battery received 
a scratch." 

Comrade Holly was possessed of a large amount of genuine courage, 
and the close call he received only added to his earnestness and made him 
more than ever determined that Connecticut should be proud of the Light 
Battery of which he was a member. It was only natural that the comrades 
who saw the dead lying on the field should wonder which of the Light 
Battery would be the first to fall, but they did not tremble or think of 
drawing back. As the shell struck the horses and scattered their blood and 
flesh in every direction, and as the ball tore away the saddle just as Comrade 
Holly dismounted, all realized that life was very iincertain, and that some of 
them might never return to their much-loved State, but if they did not the 



154 



HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 



record should go that never did a son of Connecticut turn his back on the 
foe while able to fight. 

The excitement was intense. The comrades fell back, or rolled over 
each other, stunned and scarcely knowing whether they had been wounded 
or not. Their eyes and mouths were filled with dirt and blood, and 
particles of the flesh of the mangled horses. Each, as he recovered his 
presence of mind, thought of the tragedy differently, and it became 
impossible to describe what really occurred. It was known that the shell 
destroyed the two off-horses driven by Comrades Holly and Norton, blowing 
them all to pieces, scattering their remains in every direction, then with 
unaccountable diabolism a grape shot struck the hip of the nigh lead 
horse, and passed through the saddle of Holly's horse, shattering his valise, 
a piece of which was sent a hundred feet away, striking and knocking down 
a comrade of the 7th Connecticut Infantry. 

Four horses were killed, though their remains were so scattered that it 
would have been difficult to gather them together and build up the forms of 
the four. A leg in one place, another so mangled that it bore no resem- 
blance to anything ever seen in the animal kingdom, a head lying far away 
from any other part of a body, while the entrails seemed to have been 
distributed in every direction. 

At the very moment that this slaughter of 
the horses was enacted, a sharpshooter, seeing a 
Confederate high up in the signal tower of the 
fort, with quick aim drew the trigger of his rifle 
and the man was seen turning over and over as 
he fell from his high position to the ground, a 
victim of the deadly aim of one of his Northern 
brothers. 

The off lead horse which had been driven 
by Comrade William B. Norton was a notorious 
balker and kicker. No one liked it, no one felt 
sure of it, so erratic was its actions that it was 
WILLIAM B. NORTON, impossible to say what trick it would try next, 

r, ,. , ^^"l ^"'"f '^^ ^ ^ . and when the shell destroyed its life. Comrade 

Enlisted Oct. g, 1861 ; mustered in •' ' 

Oct.26, '61; Re-enlisted Veteran, Dec. -Tsj^^t.^^ ^^,,1^ »-,^-(- v.^U^ Q^,^1r,;.Kv-.ii-ifv . 

26, 1863; mustered out June 11, 1865. Nortou could uot help cxclaiming: 




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FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 



157 



" There, darn you, now I guess you've got it! " 

Often round the camp fires at re-unions since that day the incident has 
been recalled, and many times at military receptions Gen. Hawley has 
told the story, and with great dramatic power mimicked Comrade 
Norton. 

While the confusion lasted, Comrade Oliver Abels was seen picking 
up scraps of leather, parts of harnesses belonging to the horses that had 
been killed. He seemed perfectly oblivious of his surroundings, and 
although his comrades shouted to him he took no notice until one of them 
went up and asked : 

" What are you doing there, Abels ? " 

" I won't let the damned rebels have a strap 
of our harnesses, "he replied. 

It was with difficulty that he could be per- 
suaded to relinquish his useless task. 

Comrade Holly was ordered to moimt the 
soimd horse and go back for another team. He 
confesses he felt a bit shaky, but with character- 
istic modesty he never said that he had been sick, 
and ought to have been in the hospital instead of 
on active duty. 

Comrade Theron Upson was crossing to where 
the horses were struck, and describes the episode 
in a slightly different manner, telling it as it 
came back to his memory after the excitement of 
the daj^: 

"Comrade Holly was sick the morning we were ordered out," said 
Comrade Upson. " It happened that I had some whiskey and quinine in 
my pocket; it was some that I had saved, for when we arrived on James 
Island we were served rations of whiskey and quinine every morning. I 
only took it a few times, so had two or three rations in a bottle. On that 
day I had it in my overcoat pocket. There was a lull in the battle, and I was 
standing right by Comrade Holly. I knew he was sick the day before, and 
I told him he oughtnot to have come out on that day. ' That has nothing 
to do with it, for I was coming anyway,' answered Holly. I said. 




OLIVER K. ABELS, 

of East Granby. 

Enlisted Nov. 7, 1861; mustered 

in Nov. 13, 1861; discharged Nov. 

13, 1864, time expired. 



158 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

'Come down and I will give you something to brace you up.' Holly 
dismounted, took the bottle from my hand, and had just put it to his mouth 
when a grape shot struck his saddle, tearing it to fragments and wounding 
the horse severely. Had he remained another moment in the saddle he 
would have been a dead man. The color did not return to his face for 
some time, but the army rations of whiskey and quinine helped him to 
finish his day's work in good shape. " 

The Battery was ordered to return to the hedge near the hospital, and 
it was effected in good order, one piece at a time, so that the enemy could 
not concentrate his fire. 

As the Battery fell back, scenes which harrowed the heart were 
witnessed. The ground was strewn with dying and dead. Ambulance 
parties were carrying the wounded to a house near by, and Comrade 
Fowler says that as the Battery halted a few minutes near the house he saw 
amputated limbs thrown from the windows to the burying party outside. 
There was no time for military honors to be paid the dead ; it was as much 
as could be done to provide a grave for each fallen hero, but reverently the 
burying parties dug the graves and laid their comrades to rest, their hands 
across their breasts, their uniforms decently straightened, and in the 
marshy clay of James Island rests many a man who gave his life for his 
loved land, who laid down his life for the flag he adored. 

One of the Highlanders was shot in the forehead, he fell down but soon 
rose to his feet and continued fighting, though his face was covered with 
blood. The bullet had not entered his skull, but had ploughed around the 
bones under the skin, making only a flesh wound. Comrade Holly tells of 
a very fleshy officer who was standing with his side to the fort. A bullet 
went through the seat of his pants, making him jump, but not even grazing 
his flesh. 

Comrade Doolittle says that at one period when ammunition was run- 
ning short he had got " about half way to the caissons when we saw Capt. 
Rockwell with some other officers standing by the roadside. The Captain 
saw us coming. He ran towards us, waving his sword as high as he could 
and shouting: 'Halt! Halt!' Then he asked, 'Where are you going?' 
We had halted, and I answered that we were going back after more ammu- 
nition. He smiled and said, 'AH right, I thought you were running away.' '' 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1863 159 

In the midst of battle human prejudices assert themselves and at times 
over-ride the better judgment of even the best. 

One of the horses ridden by Capt. Rockwell was a great, high, lean, 
awkward-gaited sorrel animal. Comrade William Fowler always claimed 
that the Captain looked a guy on that mount. During a short wait for 
ammunition Captain Rockwell rode up to the right section, and seeing Com- 
rade Fowler standing idle and chaffing a comrade who had crawled under a 
stretcher for protection, said, in a stern, commanding voice : 

" Fowler, have you got anything to do ? " 

"No, sir," Fowler answered, with a salute. 

" Then hold my horse. " 

The Captain dismounted and Fowler took the horse by the bridle. A 
short distance away a Confederate shot was striking the ground and making 
the dirt fly in every direction every few seconds. The horse was uneasy 
and kept shaking its head, stepping sideways, and at the same time backing 
towards the spot where the shots were falling. It occurred to Fowler to let 
the awkward brute back into the place where the shots were ploughing up 
the ground, and so in this way get rid of what had long been an eye-sore to 
him. Just as the horse was getting near the danger spot Capt. Rockwell 
looked round and called out: 

"Fowler, lead that horse up here, I see an occasional shot striking 
over there." >■ 

Fowler's plan for letting the horse back into the range of the shots was 
suddenly blocked, and the great, gawky, awkward-stepping horse was des- 
tined to be before Fowler's eyes on many subsequent parades. 

Before preparations were completed for planting the Battery on the line 
of the road a further retreat was ordered, and the Battery moved off and 
took up a position near the causeway, supported by the ist Massachusetts 
Cavalry, to cover the retreat should the enemy advance. 

As one of the guns was halting near the hedge the 46th New York 
Regiment passed close by. A man on the extreme of the regiment was shot 
through the stomach; he turned a somersault, landing on his head, and 
spinning round two or three times, his feet in the air. No one thought he 
was dead, and a comrade, describing it, said: "He stuck his head in the 
ground and stood for an instant with his heels up in the air. Comrade Titus 



160 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

Hall could not resist making one of his funny remarks about the appearance 
of the unfortunate man, for which he was sorry when he learned that he 
had joked about a dead comrade." 

The men were as black as negroes, for the smoke from the guns had 
blown in their faces. Many funny mistakes in identity occurred, for it was 
almost impossible to recognize each other. Capt. Rockwell laughed heartily 
at the men's disfigured and grimy faces, but he knew that it was their 
devotion to duty that had changed their appearance. 

The order came to return to camp, one section being left at the head- 
quarters of the reserve pickets, and remaining there until lo o'clock at night, 
when it, in compliance with orders, returned to camp. 

Comrade Griswold says that while he was struggling along in the rear 
of the Battery he was overtaken by a solitary horseman, who proved to be 
Col. Fenton, of the Sth Michigan. He was crying like a child and 
moaning : 

" My poor boys ! My brave boys ! Where are my boys ? " 

He told Griswold that more than half his men had been killed. 

It is gratifying to all who have si;rvived and to the friends of those who 
have passed into the realm of the great Beyond to know that the Battery 
won for itself a creditable mention in the official report of that first battle in 
which it was an active participant. 

While every comrade may feel that stich notice was deserved, he 
also knows that in military life merit is frequently unnoticed, officers being 
too apt to set down brave actions and gallant deeds to duty, whereas 
the history of the world has proved that actions and labors outside the strict 
line of duty have accomplished more than mere machine routine. 

A soldier obeys, that is duty ; but a machine obeys also, and does the 
work; the intelligent soldier obeys with enthusiasm and adapts himself to 
his work with such determination that victories are won, not by the officer.^, 
but by the intelligent obedience to orders by the men behind the guns. 

Therefore when mention is made of the work done by any regiment or 
company everyone knows that it is well deserved. 

Brig. -Gen. H. W. Benham, commanding the forces, reported to Maj. 
Gen. D. Hunter as follows: 

" By the reports made to me I learn that the commands of Gen. Stevens 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—7865 161 

were well placed in the positions assigned them with great silence and 
secrecy between 2 and 3 a.m., and that at about the hour appointed, 
4 o'clock, they moved forward rapidly, capturing the advance pickets, 
a lieutenant and four men, and by 5 o'clock were immediately in front 
of the fort, by a rapid march of nearly two miles. The head companies of the 
leading regiment, the 8th Michigan, closely followed by those of the 
next, the 79th New York (Highlanders), and the balance of those regiments 
then rushed up to and upon the parapet of the fort, in rear and in support 
of which were the 28th Massachusetts Regiment and the 7th Connecticut; 
but the destructive fire from the fort and from the large masses of infantry 
behind dikes and hedges on the flanks and in rear of the fort cut down the 
leading men and officers, and after the advance held the position close upon 
the fort for some fifteen or twenty minutes the order to retire and reform 
was given, which was done in good order, a portion of our dead being 
brought off, though followed by heavy discharges of musketry and grape, 
and the regiments all reformed behind a dike some 500 yards from the fort, 
and the firing continued from this point, supported here by Rockwell's 
Connecticut Battery, which was most admirably served." 

Brig.-Gen. Isaac I. Stevens, commanding Second Division Nivrthern 
District, Department of the South, officially reports to Brig.-Gen, H. G. 
Wright, who succeeded Gen. Benham, in command of the forces : 

" Capt. A. P. Rockwell, of the Connecticut Battery, deserves particular 
mention for his gallant bearing and skillful handling of his guns on that 
field. His senior lieutenant, S. T. Porter, was remarkable for his energy, 
daring and persistency throughout." 

Lieut. -Col. David Morrison, commanding the Highlanders, makes 
mention of the Battery in his official report to Col. D. Leasure, Acting 
Brigadier-General Second Brigade, in the following manner: 

" We advanced in perfect order within a distance of about 600 yards, 
when we were ordered to halt, and the Connecticut Battery on the right 
opened a galling fire with shot and shell, which told with wonderful effect 
on the enemy's works." 

Captain Rockwell's report of the action taken by the Battery is as 
follows: 



162 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

Report of Ca^t. Alfred P. Rockwell, First Connecticut Light Battery, 

James Island, /tine 17, 1862. 

Sir — I have the honor to report, for the information of the Commanding 
General, the part taken by the First Light Battery, Connecticut Volunteers, 
in the attack yesterday upon the enemy at Secessionville, S. C. 

In compliance with orders received from Brig. -Gen. Stevens, command- 
ing Second Division, the two sections of the First Connecticut Battery were 
ready to move at 2 :3o o'clock in the morning. The section of 12-pounder 
howitzers, under command of Lieut. S. T. Porter, took its place in the 
first brigade immediately in the rear of the Seventh Connecticut Regiment; 
the remaining section, under command of Lieut, William T. Seward, im- 
mediately in rear of first brigade, and all moved forward with the column. 
On reaching the causeway the rifled section was halted to allow the second 
brigade to pass by. It then moved in the rear of this brigade. The 
howitzer section on reaching the field moved obliquely across the field in 
rear of the two advancing regiments as rapidly as the extremely uneven 
surface of the ground would admit, and took up a position on the left of the 
8th Michigan Regiment at a point about 500 yards from the Tower, and 
opened fire upon the enemy's earthwork very soon after the enemy had 
commenced firing. In the meantime the rifled section had arrived upon the 
field and was advancing to the support of the pieces already in position, 
when orders were received to send forward one piece only, and that I should 
plant the other piece in the road to protect the left flank. I accordingly 
sent one piece, under command of Lieut. Seward, to support Lieut. Porter. 
He joined him, and the three pieces kept up a constant fire until after the 
infantry had fallen back to the hedge. The pieces were then withdrawn in 
good order to the road. Here the two sections took position and opened fire 
upon the enemy's works at a distance of about 1,500 yards, firing constantly 
and regularly until after the enemy's guns had ceased to answer. 

When the infantry were again moved forward on our right the howitzer 
section, in obedience to orders, advanced to support them, with instructions 
to fire canister. They took up a position and maintained it under a heavy 
fire of grape, canister and solid shot from the enemy's earthworks, at a dis- 
tance of from 400 to 500 yards, until the retreat was ordered. The rifled 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861-1865 163 

section was soon ordered up to support the howitzers, and accordingly 
moved rapidly forward. 

Finding upon examination that I had fired away nearly all my ammuni- 
tion, I sent Lieut. Seward back to camp for a fresh supply, which arrived 
just after the retreat to the wood had been effected. 

The four pieces continued firing from the advanced position which they 
held until the retreat was ordered. It was here that I had four horses 
killed. The retreat was effected in good order, one piece at a time, so as 
not to give the enemy a point to concentrate his fire, to the cornfield in the 
rear of the wood, where the Battery was ready to move in any direction 
ordered. 

While preparation was being made to plant the pieces on the line of the 
road a further retreat was ordered and the Battery moved off and took up a 
position near the causeway, supported by cavalry, to cover the retreat should 
the enemy advance. Subsequently we moved back to camp, leaving one 
section at the headquarters of the reserve pickets. It remained there all 
day until lo o'clock at night, when in compliance with orders it moved back 
to camp. 

It gives me pleasure to notice the cool courage and good judgment of 
Lieut. Porter and Lieut. Seward, the former of whom had command during 
the action of the howitzers, and was more particularly exposed to the 
enemy's fire; and I would also call attention to the admirable behavior and 
unflinching courage shown by the non-commissioned officers and privates of 
my command, as well as to their ready and prompt obedience of orders. 

After leaving the field I found that there were still remaining 31 rounds 
to each one of the four pieces, of which, however, ten only were shell and 
spherical case, the balance being canister. During the action, therefore, 
more than 500 rounds, almost entirely shell and spherical case shot, were 
fired. I have to add that I suffered no loss in killed, wounded or missing. 
I remain, very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

Alfred P. Rockwell, 
Captain, Commanding First Light Battery, Connecticut Vols. 
Capt. Hazard Stevens, 

Asst.-Adjt. Gen., Second Div., North. Dist., Dept. of the South. 



164 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

(P. S. — Having no wounded of the Battery to attend to, Asst. -Surgeon 
Hurlbut rendered most efficient- service in bringing in the wounded from 
the field and assisting in the care of the wounded of other regiments. ) 

The battle, spoken of as a reconnaissance by Gen. Benham, has been 
called a repulse, and in the official reports of the Confederate officers it 
would appear that such was the case, but while the result was unsatisfactory 
no one can say that the Union army was repulsed. The men who lost their 
lives met death while storming the earthworks and fort. No attempt was 
made to pursue the Unionists when the return to camp was ordered, nor 
did the enemy try to cut off the retreat. 

It is true of Secessionville, as of many other battles, that some one 
blundered. The object in capturing Fort Pemberton was to open a way to 
Fort Johnson, which was the key to the capture of Charleston. Gen, 
Benham apparently laid his plans with care and skill, but in the carrying- 
out of those plans a blunder was committed. 

Maj.-Gen. David Hunter charged Gen. Benham with disobedience of 
positive orders and instructions, and in his report to the Hon. E. j\I. Stanton, 
Secretary of War, he says: "I deeply regret that in consequence of Gen. 
Benham's disobedience the result has been a disastrous repulse, only 
redeemed by the brilliant conduct of the troops engaged in the assault, and 
their steadiness and patient courage when compelled to retire. In view of 
the circumstances and the serious consequences which have arisen from his 
disobedience I have felt it my duty to arrest Gen. Benham and order him 
North by the steamer conveying this letter. This step has caused me much 
regret, as previous to this unhappy act of rashness he has been industrious, 
energetic, and wholly devoted to his diUies. We still hold our former 
position, and shall continue to hold it as long as any hope of being enabled 
to make it useful by the receipt of re-inforcements shall remain. It is a 
most valuable /(?/;// d'appui for operations against Charleston, and should not 
lightly be abandoned." 

In justice to Gen. Benham we have pleasure in stating that less than 
a year later he was re-instated, the revocation of his appointment being 
cancelled on February 6, 1863. 

The blunder seems to have been made in not following up the advan- 
tages gained. The enemy's guns were silenced several times, and the men 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 165 

only returned after it was known that the Unionists were not following up 
the advantage. 

The Charleston Merctiry. in reporting the battle, states: 

" But 25 of the garrison were awake. It was a complete surprise, and 
nothing but the nerve and promptitude of the officers, especially the com- 
manding officer, saved the battery from easy capture. The first round was 
fired when the column was within 30 yards of the guns; the wearied men, 
startled by the sound or aroused by shakes and bayonet punches from the 
officers going to their guns." 

Gen. Benham maintained that had the attack taken place at daybreak, 
as he ordered, the surprise would have been complete, but the charge was 
not made until after sunrise. In answer to this Gen. Stevens says: 

" It has been charged that I was behind time. This is not true. I was 
exceedingly prompt and up to time. The orders were to move at 4 o'clock. 
My division was formed at 2 o'clock, and was at the outer pickets before 
3:30 o'clock. It was a very dark and cloudy morning. I moved at 4 o'clock. 
It was so dark that one man could not follow another except at very short 
intervals. It was much darker than on usual starlight nights. My men were 
at the enemy's works about 4:30 o'clock, and the conflict of 25 minutes, so 
dreadful in its casualties, was over, and the men returned at 5 o'clock. 
Porter's section of Rockwell's Battery advanced to the hedge within 500 
yards of the enemy's works with the troops of Fenton's Brigade, fired about 
loo shots from his two guns, was joined in the midst of his fire by one piece 
of Seward's section (a rifled gun), which fired 26 shots, and the three guns 
were withdrawn to the second hedge and actually reopened fire at 5 o'clock. 
The watch was actually consulted by one of Rockwell's sergeants at the 
very moment, and it was exactly 5 o'clock." 

To this Gen. Benham replies: " I was never able to hear, nor did any 
of my staff, as far as I could learn, ever find that he (Gen. Stevens) was 
nearer than the second hedge, or over 800 yards from the fort ; and while 
his leading regiment and a part of his fourth regiment reached the work and 
remained there 'some twenty minutes or more,' and when, as the gallant 
Morrison repeatedly said to me, ' With 40 men I could have taken the fort,' 
and when the men at the parapet and ditch would have readily pushed over 
it, if one-half even of the other four regiments had been pushed forward 



166 



HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 



instead of being left (for the noble fellows did not run) to wither under the 
fire of the fort, at some hundreds of yards distance, without the presence of 
their General — their only educated soldier near — to guide and direct them. 
As part evidence of this I have his note, in his own handwriting, sent to me 
on the battlefield, which he cannot gainsay now, in which he says, ' The 
advance company mounted the parapet, but the supports did not follow 
close enough.' " 

Capt. Rockwell declares that the attack cannot be justified. " If we 
had taken the fort that morning," he says, " we would not have been really 
any nearer Charleston. It was approached from the rear over a bridge, or 
wooden causeway, across some shallow creek. Their main line back of the 
fort was much stronger and protected at that point by the water in front. 
We could, however, have taken the fort if our attacking column had not set up 
a cheer as they started the double quick, a third of a mile away, because the 
enemy's men had been hard at work all night and had gone to sleep — 
apparently sentinels and all. If our men had advanced silently after 
capturing the enemy's picket post at the corner of the field near the wood, 
they would have surprised those in the fort. Then again, if instead of 
storming the narrow front of the works, the strongest point, we had 

,j^ ^ quietly passed by on their right, we could have 

taken the works in the rear, where they were 
open. Every life lost that day was thrown away. 
" The enemy's main line stretched across the 
island with batteries at intervals. When Gen. 
Hunter first landed on James Island he might, 
perhaps, have reached Charleston, if he could 
have pushed boldly forward, but the enemy knew 
of the expedition and collected troops, so that 
when Benham attacked at Secessionville it was 
too late. 

" It is known that Gen. Stevens was opposed 

to making the attack and protested against the 

whole movement. He told me as much himself 

after the action. It was Gen. Benham's scheme." 

That there was a strong feeling among the men that a blunder was 




HENRY S. LAWRENCE, 
of Meriden. 
Mustered Private Oct. 26, 1861; 
promoted Corpora!, May 25, 1863; 
discharged Oct. 26. 1864, time ex- 
pired. 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 167 

committed by some one every survivor will admit. Comrade Henry Law- 
rence, writing of that battle, says: "What a slaiighter that was! We 
had men enough on the island to have taken two forts like it. Old Benham 
shoiild have been the first killed." 

Comrade Hotchkiss, who was always most observant and intelligent, 
wrote in his diary a lengthy account of the battle which is worth re- 
producing. 

"In the effort to capture Fort Pemberton we caught a Tartar, " he 
writes: " We found the forts of immense strength. We opened early on 
the fort with all our gunboats that could get in range and the flank battery. 
The 8th Michigan took the lead and lost nearly half their men; it was 

awful The 8th Michigan fought like tigers. The division 

was to be supported by Wright's Brigade on the left, the whole under Gen. 
Benham. Some of the 8th Michigan fought their way to the parapet 
and jumped inside among the Confederates right over their bayonets. The 
poor fellows were not supported, and, before their left could mount the 
parapet, after losing nearly all their officers, the survivors were obliged to 
retire. They have one trophy, however, in the shape of a prisoner, whom 
they actually dragged out of the fort by the collar. 

" A second charge was made without success. Wright's Brigade came 
up too late and the day was lost. The four guns of our Battery did good 
service on the east side and prevented any flank movement. It is humili- 
ating in the extreme, for we could have carried the fort with our forces 
if they had been properly handled. ... I managed to get up to our 
flank fort, shot and shell flying all ways. It was 4th of July in earnest up 
there. The shells from one of our gunboats behind i:s in the river were 
flying over towards the rear of the fort, and the latter from the east side 
replying at the fort I was in. 

" After the fight I looked about and things looked dubious. The rebel 
balls, scrap iron, horseshoes, chains and other missiles they fired were lying 
around loose. I hope our troops will not be led into any more blunders 
We can plant big guns and mortars enough to tear their old fort to pieces 
and not sacrifice scarcely any lives. Well I such is life and death. It was 
a terrible sight to see the long lines of dead and wounded as they were 
brought in under the trees that lined the river bank." 



168 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

Lieut. Seward lays the blame on Wright's division. He says: 
"Our Battery took np a position at a hedge about 300 yards from the 
fort, keeping up a lively fire at the woods on our left. Troops from Charles- 
ton were rushed in and took up position, so as to enfilade our infantry 
advance. Nothing being seen of Wright's division, whose duty it was to be 
just where the rebel re-inforcement was, orders were given by Gen. Stevens 
to fall back, taking up position about 1,000 yards to the rear. We had 
nearly reached our last position when Wright's division hove in sight, it 
being then about 9 o'clock, fully three hours behind time. The opportunity 
for success was lost. We gathered up all we could of the dead and wounded 
and returned to the camp we left at i a. m. Hardly a man in Stevens' 
command but felt that had Wright's division been on time the whole of 
James Island would have been ours, enabling us to lay siege to Charleston, 
with eventual capture without the loss of life that the siege of Morris Island 
entailed one year later." 

The Confederate Gen. Beauregard says: "The point attacked by 
Generals Benham and Stevens was the strongest one of the whole line, 
which was then unfinished and was designed to be some five miles in length. 
The two Federal commanders might have overcome the obstacles in their 
front had they proceeded farther up the Stono. Even as it was, the fight at 
Secessionville was lost, in a great measure, by lack of tenacity on the part 
of Generals Benham and Stevens. It was saved by the skin of our teeth." 

The National loss in this action was 683 men, out of about 3,500 actually 
engaged. The Confederates lost about 200. 

After the battle came the painful duty of burying tlie dead and caring 
for the wounded. The Battery was especially fortunate in not having lost a 
man, and not one was wounded. There were some of the comrades in the 
hospital suffering from malarial fevers and colds, but nothing very serioiis. 
A comrade, in speaking of these minor troubles, tells his experience in this 
manner: 

"One of our men was very sick, he complained of bellyache, and 
declared that he would surely die unless he got the right kind of medicine. 
I emptied the water out of my canteen and managed to get it filled with gin. 
That cured his bellyache, and he did not make any more complaints. While 
we were near the hospital on the field, Captain Stevens came tip and asked 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 169 

why we were not firing', I told him tliat we liad fired as long as we had any- 
thing to fire, and only stopped when onr ammunition ran out." 

In camp the comrades found enemies they disliked more than the Con- 
federates, for Comrade Lawrence says that when he woke up one morning 
he counted 14 snakes in one oak tree under which he had been sleeping, 
and Comrade Hotchkiss declares that the mosquitoes were the most awful 
enemies he ever encountered. The rain continued to fall and the hot sun 
caused a vapor to rise from the land that almost suffocated the Northerners. 

General Benham sent a flag of truce to the enemy asking for a list of the 
wounded and prisoners which had fallen into his hands. Most courteously 
the Confederate replied that the prisoners and the wounded had been sent 
to Charleston, and the killed had been buried with the same care as the 
Confederate dead. 

Quite a number of deserters straggled into the Unionist lines, and many 
a bitter word was uttered and harsh thoughts formed when it was learned 
that at the very moment the order to retire to the camp was given the 
enemy had been discussing the advisability of surrendering, and that in a 
very short time the Union flag would have floated over the fort at Secession- 
ville, and with that in the possession of the Unionists, Charleston would 
have been within the range of the guns, and the fleet could have driven the 
enemy out of Morris and Folly Islands. 

The 8th Michigan camp adjoined that of the Light Battery, and it was 
painful to know that only 260 men of that splendid regiment were able to 
turn out for duty. 

During the stay of the Battery on James Island Lieut. Porter, being 
detailed on Gen. Stevens' staff, superintended the erection of earthworks 
and the placing of several large guns and a 13-inch mortar in position 
for again operating against Fort Pemberton. 

The excitement was high, every day there were skirmishes, and the 
comrades expected each morning that the battle would be renewed, but at 
the very time when the private soldiers thought victory near the order came 
to evacuate the island. 

At 7 o'clock on the morning of July 3 the order came to the Battery to 
break camp and to march quietly to the river. Again the wheels were 
muffled, not to get into position in front of the enemy, but to enable the 



170 



HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 



Battery to reach the river without giving the enemy a chance to pursue. 
The Battery camped in a cotton field near the river, the comrades sleeping 
in the ridges, nearly devoured by fleas and mosquitoes. 

That night Comrade Joseph Fowler was so exhausted that he, in look- 
ing out for a place to rest, went on board a schooner, and, throwing himself 
down, went to sleep on some dead bodies that had been stowed away for 
the purpose of burial in a cemetery, where they could be found by their 
friends. 

During the stay on James Island the comrades, on two or three 
occasions, went without food for twenty-four hours. A very interesting 
story is told of the way in which Comrade Sloan on one occasion came to 
the rescue and showed that he possessed true Yankee grit. 

Comrade Sloan was sent on horseback to the Quartermaster's Department 
for a side of beef. The cumbersome, awkward side of beef was put across 
the horse in front of the comrade, but not being well secured and very greasy, 

and therefore diflficult to keep in position as the 
horse trotted along, it slipped off and fell to the 
ground, half burying itself in the sand and mud. 
Comrade vSloan was small, the side of beef large; 
he was a light weight, it was heavy. The night 
had cast its shadows over the scene and that added 
to the difficulty. What was to be done? Comrade 
Sloan knew that the Battery wanted that meat, 
and on him rested the responsibility of getting it 
to them. He braced himself up and with almost 
super-human strength, and with that determina- 
tion which ennobles men and creates heroes, he 
tugged and wrestled with that side of beef until he 
got it again across the back of his horse. No one 
ever quite tuiderstood how the "Boy of the Bat- 
tery" was able to accomplish the deed, but he did, and nice juicy meat was 
served out to his comrades in proof of his brave act of determination. 

The Connecticut Light Battery were not the only sufferers from lack of 
food. The Historian of the Sixth Connecticut Infantry declares that "the 




JOHN T. SLOAN, 
of New Haven. 
Enlisted Oct. 27, 1861 ; mus- 
tered in Nov. 2. 1861; discharged 
Nov. 2. 1864, time expired. 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 



171 



whole expedition was shockingly managed. Ten thousand men were sent 
to James Island on a five days' march with two days' rations." 

The Sixth and Seventh Connecticut regiments went back to Edisto 
Island with General Wright, while the remaining forces were sent to other 
posts. 

On the evening of the Fourth of July, 1862, the Battery embarked on 
the steamer Delaware, and on the next morning once more arrived at 
Beaufort. 







CHAPTER VIII. 



SUMMER AT BEAUFORT. 




EAUFORT, the city of tropical beauty, whose groves of 
rare foliage and luscious fruit made it famous the country 
round, seemed quite home-like to the comrades of the 
right and centre sections of the Battery when they 
returned after the month's experience on James Island. 
If Beaufort had been like an earthly Paradise in May, 
no words can express or describe its transcendant loveliness in July, and 
when the two sections returned the camp looked like a vision of peaceful rest. 
The wealthy planters, whose homes were like old-world palaces in the 
luxurv of their surroundings, had known how to gather together everything 
which would make life a pleasure. In one instance a house opened into a 
o-rove of tropical fruits and rare plants which would have been envied by a 
European monarch. The Unionist otficers occupied these houses and the 
men enjoyed the beauties of the scene. 

The Sibley tents were cool and tempting on those hot days, the dark 
green of the pines, the artistic loveliness of the moss-covered live oaks, the 
glorious luxuriance of the magnolia and other tropical trees, the many-tinted 
flowers, the ripe fruit hanging from the branches of orange trees in the well- 
laid-out groves, all contributed to make the welcome back one long 
to be remembered. 

One private park will live in the memory of the comrades as long as life 
lasts. Its groves of golden orange; its dense tropical foliage, the graceful 
palms, and massive oaks, the rose garden and rare oleanders, made it a syl- 
van park where nature was seen at its best; where winding paths were lined 
with gnarled oaks, festooned with moss and decked with orchids; where the 
green grass seemed like a carpet of richest emerald velvet, until it appeared 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1S61—1S65 173 

to be sacrilege to walk upon it— such was one of the familiar places the com- 
rades remember of that summer in Beaufort. 

The comrades of the left section awaited their brothers anxiously. 
They knew that wonderful tales 

"Of hairbreadth 'scapes i' the imminent deadly breach," 
would be told. The skirmish at Pocotaligo sank into insignificance when 
compared to the battle of Secessionville. 

What a warm welcome awaited the comrades on their disembarkation ! 
While the stirring scenes were being enacted on James Island the com- 
rades of the left section had been engaged in nursing back to health and 
soundness their horses, which had suffered so severely in the march to and 
from Pocotahgo. The saddle sores and chafing took time to heal, for the 
climate was hot, the flies tormenting, the mosquitoes the greatest of pests, 
and all combined to keep the horses in a state of torture. 

The left section was recruited to full six-gun battery by men from the 
50th Pennsylvania Infantry, and horses furnished from Quartermaster's 
Department, with four Parrot guns, for defence of Beaufort. Lieutenant 
Cannon was acting-Captain in command, Sergeants Dickinson, Grow and 
Graves acting-Lieutenants; Warren Bissell acting-Orderly-Sergeant. 

Every day rumors reached the camp that the Confederates were landing 
on the Island, sometimes causing the greatest excitement and a feverish 
desire to meet the enemy and show how Northern men could fight. 

One day the left section and the two Parrot sections were ordered to 
hitch up in a hurry and proceed to a fort and line of breastworks which had 
been erected about a mile outside the City of Beaufort, where they went 
into camp ready for the expected attack. Considering that the men in the 
Parrot sections were not trained artillerymen they made a very creditable 
showing, though they did not hesitate to show their disappointment at not 
seeing the enemy after getting all ready to receive them. 

"Now we are all ready I wi.sh they would come," exclaimed Sergeant 
Dickinson impetuously, but the enemy did not consider the worthy Sergeant's 
wishes in the matter and stayed away. 

Some of the drivers in the Parrot sections did not readily submit to 
discipline; they insisted on feeding their horses whenever they felt like it 



174 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

and hitching them in places of their own selection instead of feeding at 
regular hours at feed-call and hitching at the regular picket rope. 

The recalcitrants were ordered under arrest by Lieut. Cannon, com- 
manding the Battery, and charges preferred against them for disobeying 
orders. They, however, escaped punishment, Lieut. Cannon considering 
that their intentions were good, their only desire being to take the best care 
of their horses, which they considered they could do better than by 
complying with the artillery regulations. There was an unanimous opinion 
among those charged with disobedience that Lieut. Cannon was an 
exceedingly good commander, and the comrades of the Light Battery quite 
agreed with them. 

Brig. -Gen. John ]\L Brannan, with two thousand troops, originally 
brought up from Ke}^ West and the Tortugas to take part in the attack on 
Charleston, remained at Beaufort, and Gen. Brannan was placed in command 
in succession to Gen. Stevens, who had received orders, at Hilton Head, to 
proceed North to join the Army of Virginia. 

It was expected that the Battery would go with Gen. Stevens, and the 
comrades were full of excited hope that such would be the case, for Gen. 
Stevens had won their hearts by his suavity of manner and kindness 
of disposition. 

It was found that there was a lack of means for transporting the Battery, 
so it had to be left behind, and was ordered to Beaufort. Lieut. Seward 
was detailed to serve temporarily on Gen. Stevens' staff to assist in getting 
his command to sea. On the 12th of July, 1862, Gen. Stevens sailed for Fort 
Monroe, with the 28th Massachusetts, 8th Michigan, 46th New York, 79th 
New York, 50th Pennsylvania and the looth Pennsylvania. 

Lieut. Seward says that on his return to quarters at Beaufort he 
received orders to report to Gen. Brannan. "Upon reporting I found I 
was appointed Post Treasurer," he writes, "and was asked if I knew what 
the duties were. I replied that I did not, and Gen. Brannan laughingly said 
that he, too, was ignorant, so I had better go and find out. He advised me 
to see Capt. Langdon or Lieut. Henry, who had both served in that capacity. 
They gave me the benefit of their experience, and very soon I was well 
tinder way and acting satisfactorily to the General and all interested." 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 175 

Lieut. Seward likes to recall the incident of the auditing of his books 
some months later, and tells the story in this manner: 

"After I had filled the position for a few months I received notice that 
a council of administration had been ordered to audit my books. The 
board consisted of three colonels, from the 6th Connecticut, the 55th Penn- 
sylvania and the 4th New Hampshire Volunteers. 

" The chairman of the council having had a slight difficulty with me in 
the line of my business a few weeks previous, made me, I confess, a trifle 
nervous; however, I had my papers all in shape and knew they were 
absolutely correct. I spread them out on the tables in my office and 
awaited for the arrival of the council. 

"They appeared on time and asked me if this was the office of the Post 
Treasurer, and upon being informed that it was, they read their orders. 
The President then said: 

"'Before we examine your accounts we will adjourn to the Stevens 
House and drink a bottle of wine at your expense.' 

"I remember that we were in the Stevens House very soon carrying 
out the President's suggestion. Having fulfilled that duty we returned to 
my office and the President asked where they should sign their names, as 
they found my accounts correct, 

"While I knew that the Blue Book did not prescribe that way of 
auditing books, it was a great relief to me, for in my schoolboy days, when 
called up for examination before visiting committees, I was liable to suffer 
from stage fright and might not be able to even tell my name. 

"When talking to these colonels afterwards they said they knew 
nothing about the details, but they were satisfied I was doing my work 
honestly and well." 

In Lieut. Seward's case this method of auditing was all right, but 
suppose an incompetent man had been in charge, would the bottle of wine 
paid for by the Post Treasurer have compensated the Government for any 
loss sustained through incompetency or dishonesty? 

Lieut. Seward explained the duties of the office as follows: 
"The Post Treasurer secures ovens, building or hiring them, details, 
by general orders, bakers from the different commands in numbers sufficient 
to make soft bread for the soldiers, taking their rations of flour and giving 



176 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

them, for each pound of flour to which they are entitled, a pound of soft 
bread. One hundred pounds of flour will turn out nearly one hundred and 
thirty pounds of soft bread, making a gain of thirty per cent. That surplus 
the Post Treasurer sells to the officers, citizens, contrabands or anyone 
wishing to purchase. The money thus received was called a 'Post Fund,' 
which, at certain periods, was divided among the command, each regiment 
receiving its share proportionate to the amount of rations of flour contri- 
buted. The Battery had quite a little purse, which gave them many luxuries 
not furnished in the regular rations." 

On July 1 8 the Battery lost three men — Comrade James Hayes, of 
Granby, by death, and Comrades Jonathan Riggs, of Bridgeport, and Loren 
Bradford, of Hebron, being discharged and sent home. 

Camp life was resumed and the routine of drill and discipline occupied 
the time of the men. The duties were not arduous and the comrades had 
plenty of opportunity for reading and writing. 

The fields were filled with sweet potatoes and corn, while orange and fig 
trees abounded near the houses, making camp life exceedingly pleasant. 

There was considerable excitement in the camp on the morning of July 
20 and every comrade felt elated. The Battery had a mascot in the shape 
of a little dog, which answered to the name of Fanny. The wag of Fanny's 
tail looked so much like home life that it made many a comrade forget his 
troubles and throw off the most violent fit of the blues. Fanny seemed to 
know this, for she would invariably seek out the most melancholy and miser- 
able, and, rubbing herself against his legs, would attract his attention, and 
then wag her tail, saying, as well as a dog could: " Cheer up, comrade, you 
are fighting for your country." 

On that Sunday morning, when the mercury was away up in the nineties, 
and the comrades were hesitating whether to attend service or not, the news 
came that Fanny was the proud mother of six little pug-nosed pups. 
There was not a man in all three sections but rejoiced, and so thoroughly 
that the heat and its discomfort were forgotten. 

As though to share in the joy the 6th Connecticut arrived at the camp, 
headed by its regimental band playing a lively march. 

The afternoon was one of misery to the left section, for Lieutenant 
Cannon, for some reason which has never been satisfactorily explained, 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861-1865 177 

ordered the section to hitch up and proceed along the shell road a distance 
of two miles. The section was out in the broiling sun for over three hours, 
and the men were nearly exhausted, for in the early morning there had been 
the usual inspection, followed by a drill, a thing of very rare occurrence on 
Sunday. 

The monotony of camp life was varied by picket duty, it being a rule in 
the camp that each regiment should take its turn at the ten days' picket 
service, anl a section of the Battery always accompanied the regiment. 



*s?ft^? 




ON PICKET. 



This picket duty called them out to some of the finest plantations in the 
suburbs of the city, along the most perfect shell road ever made by man, 
with hedges on either side, and its smooth surface glistening in the sunlight 
like a jeweled pathway. 

On the return from one of these expeditions, when the enemy's pickets 
had been firing at the Unionists incessantly, causing the men to be on duty 
for thirty-six hours at a stretch, an amusing incident occurred. 

A number of darkies and their mules followed the section on its return 
to Beaufort. Corporal Huntington, feeling tired, weary and sore from the 
long and strained watchfulness, had a happy thought. He saw the mules 
and imagined that it would be much pleasanter to ride into camp on a mule's 
back than on the hard gun limbers. He acted on his thought by picking 
out one of the best mules he saw by the road side and mounted it bare 
back. Huntington thought he could ride anything. He got along very well 
with his mule for some distance, but the mule had a will of its own, it might 



178 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

be a mulish way, but it was a strong one, and when it reached a yard where 
it had been accustomed to stop, it turned into the yard, despite the kicks and 
whipping Huntington administered. To change an old proverb and make it 
nearer the truth, Huntington found that: 

"The man's a fool who thinks by force or skill 

To stem the torrent of a mulish will ; 
For if a mule will, it will, you may depend on't, 

And if it won't, it won't, and there's an end on't." 

To enter that yard it was necessary to go through a gateway, on either 
side of which were upright posts having a cross bar spiked and forming an 
archway only just high enough for a horse to pass under. Directly under 
this cross bar and at the entrance of the gate was a quagmire of mud, deep, 
sticky and nasty-looking. The mule turned so suddenly into the gateway, 
that its rider had but little time to decide whether he would jump off into 
the mud voluntarily or be swept off over the mule's heels into it. If he 
had wanted to reason out which course would be preferable he had not time, 
for before he could utter an ejaculation the mule was under the cross bar, 
which Comrade Huntington, with splendid presence of mind, grabbed hold 
of and clung to, while the mule walked from under him, shaking its tail and 
looking back at its recent rider, and kicking up its heels as much as to say, 
in mulish language, "Good-by, Yank!" Never did mule show such glee; it 
simply gloried in the discomfiture of the soldier, who was hanging to the 
cross bar between the gate posts over a puddle of dirty, thick water at least 
knee deep. 

While the mule was kicking up its heels and enjoying the misery of the 
soldier, Corporal Huntington was considering in his mind how to escape 
without dropping into the mud hole. He saw that it was hopeless, so, 
bracing his nerves to the requisite tension, he closed his eyes and dropped. 
As he sank into the mud, the slush was forced up like a fountain, covering 
the dapper and weil-groomed Corporal with its slimy nastiness and clinging 
to his whiskers as though proud to have such a sticking place. The com- 
rade was proud of those whiskers, as well he might be, for were not all the 
girls in love with them and all the boys envious? And now they were 
caked with mud and all through that mulish mule. 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 179 

On his way back he was fully satisfied that the hardest gun limber was 
preferable to the back of a Secesh mule, besides being safer and cleaner. 
Comrade WiUiam Fowler, who witnessed the performance, never tires 
telling the story and humorously describing Huntington as he sat on the 
mule, his pants half way up to his knees, slapping and struggling with all 
his might and using his wits to keep the mule from turning into that yard, 
knowing that it meant either jumping, or being brushed into that mud hole. 
Comrade Fowler tells another good story in which Corporal Huntington's 
whiskers play a leading part. Huntington wore unusally long, bushy, 
black whiskers, which, by turning them up toward the top of his head, could 
be made to cover his entire face and forehead, giving him the appearance 
of a hairy man, his e}es only showing through the mass of hair. In the 
early days at Beaufort, when negro help was cheap and the luxury of 
having a servant tempted the Connecticut boys, each tent had a colored 
boy to shine their boots, look after their tent and do necessary chores. 
The servant who waited on Fowler and his tent mates answered to the 
name of "Governor Milton," and was as black as any full-blooded African 
could be. Like all his kind, he was superstitious and believed in spooks 
and hobgoblins. 

One night he was about entering the tent, with the mess pan full of 
dishes which he had just washed, when Comrade Huntington, with his 
whiskers pulled up over his face and under his hat, turned towards him and 
blew a whifE of smoke into his face. The darky dropped the mess pan and 
ran screaming from the tent. As he did not return that night, Comrade 
Fowler sought him the next morning in the negro quarters. 

"Why did you not come to the tent, Milton?" he asked. 
"Lawdy, massa, I saw de debil, and from his mouth de fire an' brim- 
stone was runnin'." 

"Come back, he won't hurt you, Milton." 

"Whar is de man wid de har on his teeth?" the nigger exclaimed 
shrinking with fear. 

Just then he caught sight of Comrade Huntington and shrieked: 
"Dar he is, massa; he swallow me; save me, massa, save me, he'll eat 

up dis nigger, sure." 

The comrade did present a weird appearance, for his face was hidden 



180 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

by his whiskers, and from the silky hair there came the smoke from his 
pipe. 

"Governor Milton" was never convinced of the humanity of the fine- 
looking- soldier, but always asserted that if he wasn't "de debil, he was a 
spook," and when about that tent was always looking- out for the man with 
hair on his teeth. 

While out on picket duty the comrades of the left section came across 
a most original darky. He was a Baptist preacher and possessed the "gift 
of the gab" to a marvelous extent. It was a treat to hear him talk, and 
when he was questioned about Gen. Beauregard, whose servant he said he 
had been, he became very eloquent, and would talk for an hour without 
stopping to take breath. He seemed to know most of the Confederate 
generals who hailed from Carolina, and he would affectionately converse 
about them and " Massa Rhett," who was, according to the darky, all that 
man should be. The old darky was very non-committal about his politics, 
even when talking about the Confederate generals. "Are you Secesh?" 
he was asked by one comrade. "No," was his answer. "Then you are 
Union?" Again the darky would shake his head and answer "No." 
"What are you, then?" he was asked, almost angrily. "Baptist, massa, an' 
alius have been." 

The old fellow used to go outside the lines and get eggs and other 
things; the comrades would buy from him and sometimes would go down 
to his shanty for some dainties. After a time his incessant talk about 
General, or, as he would call him, Massa Beauregard, became wearying, and 
the comrades made fun of him and he refused to sell them an}^ more eggs. 
He was angry and felt insulted. That only made the soldiers tease him 
the more. He positively refused to sell them any thing. One day, 
while six or eight comrades were in his shanty teasing for eggs, and had 
been gruffly refused, one of the soldiers looked under the old darky's bed 
and saw a basket piled high with new laid eggs. 

The soldier, ready for any fun, and thinking only to force the "friend 
of Massa Beauregard" to sell the eggs, pulled the basket from under the 
bed and was at once seized by the owner, who yelled, at the top of his 
voice, ^'- Look out dar, don't you dare take deui eggs! I done sold dein eggs 
to de General ! " A struggle commenced, each striving to get the eggs. 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 181 

It looked as thoug'h the big, powerful negro, old as he was, would get the 
advantage, as in the scuffle care had to be taken to prevent the eggs from 
being broken, when one of the soldiers, a comrade of the 6th Connecticut 
Infantry, picked up a yellow chamber utensil and struck the darky over 
the head. 

A nigger's head is said to be hard, but this man's, perhaps, was an 
exception, for he bled like a stuck pig. The sight of blood frightened the 
soldiers, who had not anticipated a tragic ending to their joking, and they 
ran from the shanty to the camp. One alone remained, and that one was 
the very soldier who had inflicted the wound. Tenderly and patiently he 
bathed the old darky's head, stanching the blood and doing all he could 
to make the man comfortable. No doubt he felt sorry for his act, and it 
may be that he thought to win over the negro to silence about the lawless 
act. The Baptist preacher, who had preached about loving enemies and 
praying for those who injure you, vowed to have revenge. He declared 
that the guilty man should not escape, and as soon as he was able to get to 
the camp he sought the Colonel commanding the post and made a formal 
and highly profuse complaint, asking that the assailant should be punished. 
The man's appearance was sufficient corroboration of his story and the 
officer determined to act promptly. 

Orders were given for the entire force to fall in line, and then the 
darky, the "friend of Massa Beauregard." was told to pick out his assailant. 
Leaning on the arm of the soldier who had befriended him, he walked 
along the line, looking closely into the face of each man ; then he returned 
and before he had again reached the end of the line had identified no less 
than six men, each of whom he was sure was the one who had used the 
utensil with such terrible effect. The Colonel saw that the negro could 
not identify the guilty man, so he dismissed the soldiers, after giving them 
a severe and perhaps well-deserved reprimand, warning them that if such 
a thing occurred again he would adopt stringent means to find out and 
severely pimish the culprit. All the time the very man who struck the 
blow was walking by the darky's side, pretending to assist him in his work 
of identification. This comrade, belonging to the 6th Connecticut Infantry, 
was a good fellow, noted for his coolness in trying situations and had been 
detailed several times on dangerous scouting duty, where he had proved 



182 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

his worth. He was known in the regiment as "Baity," because he was 
a native of the Monumental City, Baltimore. 

Apart from picket duty the life at Beaufort was one of routine, which 
Comrade Sloan thus describes: 

" We spent most of our time in drilling and the routine of camp duties. 
One of the excitements of life at that time was to run the guard, go down 
on the Bay, and to escape the cavalry patrol, who were extremely oflficious. 
The patrol rarely succeeded in landing any of our boys, except one or two 
of the older ones, and when they did, it was easy to drop from the windows 
of the provost guard house and to find one's way back to camp. At that 
time we had the Sibley tents, with the unlucky number of thirteen in each 
ent. The stables were fairly well built, divided into stalls with poles and 
roofed with boughs, so as to give protection from the sun ; the horses were 
groomed twice a day, and frequently at the picket rope an officer with 
white gloves would try to find some dirt on the horse after cleaning, and if 
the o-love was soiled, the horse must be cleaned the second time. One of 
Capt. Rockwell's favorite orders was that all equipment and horses were 
to be kept so clean that they would not soil a cambric handkerchief. 
Sunday inspection was an important function. Equipment and uniform 
were thoroughly inspected and the cleanliness of the underwear was always 
looked after. In the absence of a chaplain some part of the Episcopal 
Ritual was read to us each Sunday. We found large quantities of black- 
berries in their season, which were a great addition to our rations, and by a 
little judicious trading with the colored brothers we were able to get a 
fairly good assortment of food." 

A comrade tells of a narrow escape he had one day while at Beaufort. 
" A party of men were sent out to get wood for the camp," he said; "they 
chopped down the tree and then put a shell in the butt and blew it 
to pieces, so that it would be easier to carry into camp. One comrade was 
putting in the shell and touching it off. I was down by the side of the tree, 
and he touched off the fuse too soon The shot went off and so did the tree, 
and I went with it. I was so close to the tree that I was carried along 
about ten feet, though with the exception of a nasty jarring I was 
uninjured." 

The hearts of the comrades were cheered very much by the reading of a 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 183 

letter received by Captain Rockwell from Brig. -Gen. Tyler complimenting 
the Battery very highly for its bravery and efficiency on James Island, and 
especially at the battle of Secessionville. 

It was gratifying to know that the work of the Battery was acknowl- 
edged to be worthy of praise, and the comrades felt elated because they 
knew that wives and sweethearts, mothers and fathers, would hear that the 
boys of Connecticut were making themselves respected on the field of 
action. 

It must have had a soothing effect on two of the comrades, George 
Goodale and Levi J. Warner, whose dying moments were spent in listening 
to the reading of that letter from Gen, Tyler. 

Beaufort was made a hospital station, and the sick from the entire 
department were brought there and treated, the result being- a great many 
funerals. The National Cemetery now located there is a standing memorial 
of the great number of deaths which occurred during the sinnmer and 
winter of 1862. 

The mortality being so high at Beaufort that summer but little attention 
was paid to the burial of the dead. A comrade wrote in his diary August 5, 
1862: " George Goodale was buried this morning. I never shall forget the 
disgraceful manner in which he was buried. By some mismanagement or 
misunderstanding, he was conveyed to the grave by three negroes in a cart 
drawn by a mule, without any escort. Eight of our company followed some 
minutes afterwards and overtook the corpse on the burying ground while 
the negroes were digging the grave. We saw the body decently interred. 
The burial service was read by Lieut. Cannon, after which we fired three 
volleys over the grave, and left our comrade lying beside three others who 
had been our comrades in the Battery. The spot where he was buried was 
in a place of pine woods by the side of the shell road, a quarter of a mile 
from the city." 

Comrade Sloan, in speaking of the funerals draws this sorrowful picture: 

" Funerals were conducted with so little ceremony that it became the 
custom for a darky to take the body in a cheap box, in an ordinary dump 
cart, and let the box slide into the shallow grave. General Saxton, Post 
Commander, issued an order putting a stop to this procedure. In his order he 



184 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

said that if no one could be found to give the dead soldier a httle attention, 
he would attend and read the prayers for the dead. This order worked a 
change. I think all the members of the Battery who died were given a 
soldier's burial. I well remember attending some of the funerals." 

On one occasion Comrade Wells witnessed a disgraceful scene at 
a funeral. The grave had been dug too small and the negroes were trying 
to force the coffin into it. They would push it in a little, then pull it out and 
push again, calling out in an unfeeling manner, "Push him in!" "Pull him 
out!" but could not succeed in getting the coffin into the grave without 
digging it larger. 

Three days after Comrade Goodale's death Comrade Levi Warner died. 
A tribute, written by a comrade, at the time, stands forth as his best monu- 
ment. "Warner was twenty-one years of age," wrote the comrade, "and 
was very much loved and respected by his comrades and all who knew him. 
He was as brave and good as any man in the Battery. At James Island he 
was one of the bravest." vSuch a tribute will ever be remembered by 
those who were left behind. "A man's good deeds are his best monument, " 
says the poet, and the young comrade's monument was erected in the 
hearts of his friends. 

Tragedy and comedy constantly commingle in camp life. The world 
is made up of light and shade, of sorrow and gayety. Human nature is the 
same on the tented field as in the city streets. All round men were dying, 
the groans of the sufferers could be heard far from the hospital tents, and 
yet those who were in good health made the best of life and enjoyed their 
jokes, sang their songs, and told their yarns as healthy men will. 

Comrade William Brown, of Hebron, was one of the oddest characters 
in the Battery. He was very large, and through his eccentric manners and 
awkward gait was frequently made the butt of practical jokes by his tent 
comrades. 

Brown had the character of being the champion snorer of the Battery, 
When he commenced his nasal trumpetings he would wake every one in the 
tent. No one could sleep until Brown was silenced. The noise of 
musketry, the booming of cannons, would not disturb the comrades, but 
Brown's snoring was something too awful to be endured. Comrade Andrew 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 



185 




ANDREW H TURNER, 

of New Haven. 
Enlisted Oct. 27, 1861; mus- 
tered in Nov. 2, 1861; promoted 
Corporal May 25, 1862; re-en- 
listed Veteran Dec. ig, 1863; 
promoted Sergeant Oct. 27, 
1864; mustered out June n, 



H. Turner made it his business to silence his tent-comrade Brown whenever 
the snoring fit commenced. / 

Frequently during the night, when all was 
still and quiet reigned, Brown would commence, 
and then the loud voice of Comrade Turner would 
be heard shouting : 

"Brown, dry up! " 

A joke was played on Comrade Brown one day 
which came near causing him the loss of his big 
toe and placing his life in danger. Brown had 
large feet and big toes which matched the feet. 
They were the cause of many jests and good- 
natured bantering. 

One rainy day as eight or ten comrades were 

lying in a circle in one of the Sibley tents, with 

their feet pointed towards the centre of the tent, 
1005. 

Brown's feet towered above the others, and as the 

heat was oppressive he had bared them, making his big toes very 

conspicuous. The comrades used to say that Brown was proud of his feet, 

and especially of the very long nails which he seemed to specially cultivate 

on each of his big toes. There was a suppressed laugh from Comrade 

Tallmadge as he saw the long nail on the big toe of an abnormally large foot. 

The laugh was occasioned by the thought that the toe nail would be an 

excellent target for revolver practice. Taking out his pistol he aimed it at 

the toe, saying: 

" I am going to see how close I can shoot to that big toe without hitting 
it. Say, Brown, let me shoot off the nail." 

Comrade Brown took him seriously and shouted : 

"Don't shoot! Don't shoot!" 

"Yes, I will," Tallmadge replied; "hold still and I'll clip that nail 
for you." 

The comrades were all excited. Brown was shouting: "Don't shoot! 
Don't shoot!" The comrades were laiighing and guying, some calling to 
Tallmadge to fire, and Brown shouting still louder, "Don't, Tallmadge, don't 
shoot," causing such an uproar as was never before heard in that tent. 



186 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

All this time Tallmadge was cool and collected, still aiming at the 
frightened comrade's toe and begging him to keep still or he might get hurt. 

"Now then, Brown, here she goes," Tallmadge shouted, so that his 
voice might be heard above the din. 

"Don't shoot, Tallmadge, don't shoot!" Brown gasped, his fear making 
his voice weak. The comrades were all laughing and shouting, enjoying the 
joke, when the pistol accidentally went off and the bullet just grazed 
Brown's big toe, making the splinters fly from a piece of board against 
which his feet were resting. 

The laughter was silenced, fright took its place, and for an instant 
every face was as pale as the face of the dead. When it was found that 
Comrade Brown was not hurt, Tallmadge pretended that the shot was not 
accidental, but when Brown, worked up to the fever heat of anger, 
threatened to report him, the comrades gathered around using all their 
persuasive powers to calm him, and, after a great amount of coaxing, induced 
him to take the matter as a joke and not report Comrade Tallmadge. If he 
had done so it might have caused a great amount of trouble, perhaps for all. 
After a time Brown laughed as heartily as the rest over the joke, and in the 
end he had the best of it. That accidental discharge of the pistol stopped 
practical joking with loaded pistols for a short time. 

During the summer the negroes started some religious revivals, which 
occasioned considerable amusement for the troops, who used to flock to the 
meeting house and listen to the earnest, even if humorous, harangues of 
the colored preachers. 

The scenes were often ludicrous in the extreme. It was very difficult 
to believe that there was any religion in the exercises. A big darky in his 
shirt sleeves, mounted on a platform, preached the strangest medley that 
ever white man listened to. The hearers shouted "Glory!" and "Hal- 
lelujah!" until they were hoarse. The preacher sang hymns and prayed 
and preached alternately until one would think that he was a locomotive 
with too big a head of steam on ; he danced on one leg, kicking about with 
the other, tossing his arms upwards in a wild and original manner, as if he 
were using his utmost endeavors to climb into heaven on an invisible rope. 

When he got tired another would get up and cry out: "Yes, Lawd, I'm 
comin.'" Then he would talk about repentance and death and hell, while 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 187 

the women would shout and the men scream wildly "Glory, glory." In the 
midst of the sermon a nigger, blacker than the ace of spades, would start a 
hymn, and after each verse the whole congregation would join in a chorus. 
Women dropped on their knees, seized with spasmodic religion, while men 
would pray and sing irrespective of what others were doing. Some would 
run up to the preacher's desk and butt it with their heads, crying excitedly: 
" Glory, hallelujah ! Massa Linkum's comin.' " 

A favorite h37mn at the revivals was: 

"Little children sitting on the tree of life, 

To hear when Jordan roll ; 
O, roll, Jordan, roll; roll, Jordan, roll! 
We march the angel march; O, march the angel march; 
Oh ; my soul is rising heavenward, to hear when Jordan roll. 
O my brother! sitting on the tree of life. 

To hear when Jordan roll. 
Sister Mary sitting on the tree of life. 

To hear when Jordan roll." 

As the verses continued introducing, by name, the brothers and sisters, 

the visitors who were known, each "sitting on the tree of life," the 

enthusiasm would increase, the singing getting louder and louder, until a 

brother would scream and a sister faint with the exertion, then some darky 

would begin to shuffle with his feet, jerking his arms and shouting "Glory!" 

Before the last notes of the rolling song had died away another brother 

would start: 

" My sister don't you want to get religion ? 

Go down in the lonesome valley, 

Go down in the lonesome valley, 

Go down in the lonesome valley, my Lord, 

To meet my Jesus there." 

The soldiers were welcoiue to attend these meetings so long as they had 
a coin to give the "brethren." The guying was endured, the laughter 
tolerated, but no mercy was shown the luckless white man if he had not a 
dime to give for the sacred cause. 

A most ludicrous scene occurred at one of these revival meetings. A 
colored brother was exhorting his flock to trust more in Jesus, and continued 
shouting every few minutes: 

"Take hold on Jesus, brethren! " 



188 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

A sister, fat and forty but as black as the ace of spades, threw out her 
arms right and left and grabbing- the wool of a young brother who was 
kneeling near her, pulled it vigorously, calling out: 

" I've got him, bress de Lawd! " 

The brother, who felt that soon he would be in the position of " Poor 
Old Ned," who "had no wool on the top of his head, the place where the 
wool ought to grow," got angry and landed a left hander on the devout 
sister's face, knocking her over and falling with her on the floor. A free 
fight ensued, but the service went on, the brothers singing loudly to drown 
the angry voices of the contestants. 

At a later meeting a tragedy threw a black cloud over the revival. 
Some of the troops attended, no doubt for the sake of getting a little cheap 
amusement. Soldiers who contributed ten cents when the hat was passed 
were allowed to laugh and take other liberties, but those who did not contrib- 
ute were severely looked after, and if detected "making a mock of God " put 
out. On this occasion the troops were all out of money, for there were often 
long waits between pay days. When the collecting usher passed the hat 
and not a penny was dropped into it, he scowled, and was unusally prompt 
in enforcing order; no one was allowed to laugh, or even smile. The 
soldiers resented such treatment and curtailing of former privileges just 
because they happened to be out of money, and they laughed at all the 
amusing antics as usual; perhaps they were a trifle more boisterous. The 
preacher ordered absolute silence, and said, "Any gemman in de house ob 
de Lord dat make a mock ob God oughter be knocked free miles." That 
caused roars of laughter, and the preacher ordered the" white trash" to 
be turned out. The negroes shouted: "Amen!" "Glory, hallelujah!" 
" Praise God for all His bressings! " 

The ushers, strong, brawny negroes, with but little clothing on their 
black bodies, tried to enforce the order. A fight ensued. The soldiers and 
ushers rolled over each other on the floor, while the excited people were 
shouting and singing, and praying as the spirit moved them. 

In the struggle, one of the ushers who had followed a soldier to the 
door was struck on the head, a part of the negro's anatomy generally sup- 
posed to be invulnerable. The negro staggered and fell down the stone 
steps, landing on his head. When he was picked up it was found that his 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861— 1 865 189 

neck was broken. After that an order was issued prohibiting the troops 
attending the negro revival meetings. 

When time hung heavy on their hands the comrades often turned their 
thoughts to the problem how to obtain different rations. "Sod" was 
constantly advocating some scheme in that direction, and in his large- 
heartedness wanted every member of the Battery to participate. 

He told the comrades that he could build a boat good and strong 
enough to sail on the river and with such a boat he could catch plenty of 
fish and get all the oysters they wanted. After considerable talk the 
officers gave him permission to try what he could do. "Sod" was like a 
great boy; big, ungainl}^, he might be, but his heart was as young as that of 
a school boy, and he was as "jolly as a sandboy" when he got permission. 
He built his boat, large enough to carry three or four men, put in a mast 
and rigged up a sail. The comrades called it "Sod's Sharpy. " It fulfilled 
all expectations, and during that summer it was frequently loaded with 
oysters and fish, which the officers enjoyed quite as much as the comrades. 

At night sleep was often disturbed by "all kinds of insects, from bugs 
having eight legs and as large as an ordinary cake of soap," wrote one of the 
comrades in his diary, " to the smallest thing you could see with the naked 
eye; and even snakes frequented our bunks." 

But this was when the comrades were camping outside the city limits. 
In the city the mosquitoes were quite as much as human nature could 
endure. 

Owing to the yellow fever at Hilton Head, no vessels brought supplies 
or mails from the North for over a month. The Department of the South 
was virtually isolated during the period and naturally the forage gave 
out and the horses were allowed the range of the town to graze. This 
gave the comrades an opportunity to run about the district at their own 
sweet will, and if an officer should stop them they always had an answer 
ready — they were looking for stray horses. One night Captain Rockwell's 
horse ate up his rope-halter and got away. In the course of the night the 
horse wandered near the picket line and was at once challenged by the 
picket. In the darkness it was impossible to see whether the horse had a 
rider or not. Again the challenge rang out, and as the horse could not give 
the countersign, the picket fired. The Captain lost his horse, and the War 



190 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

Department never paid him for it. No such case had ever occurred before, 
and the Department would not create a precedent. When finally a cargo 
was received one of the horses was down at the wharf and seized a bag 
of grain with its teeth and started off towards the camp rejoicing in the 
thought of a feast. The horses were so accustomed to the various 
commands that they became almost human in their knowledge. 

The hospital doctors at Beaufort, as well as in the Park Barracks, New 
York, seemed to consider the syrup of squills a sovereign specific for all 
the ills that flesh is heir to. A comrade tells how on one occasion he 
contracted a very severe cold and reported to the doctor. * ' Are you a 
driver?" the doctor asked, "because if so I cannot excuse you from duty." 
He prescribed a bottle of squills, and, says the comrade, "I threw that 
bottle of squills as far as I could and never tasted the contents. I felt very 
mad and worked myself into such a fever heat that it cured my cold and I 
never had another cold afterwards. That was the only time I reported at 
sick call during my three years." 

Comrade Wells relates an experience he had while on guard duty. 
The officers kept a good milch cow on one of the back lawns near the house 
occupied by them. While on night guard, for which he was detailed every 
week, this comrade milked the cow and treated himself to nice fresh milk. 
The officers began to think the cow was drying up, but could not understand 
how it was that about once a week the cow refused to give milk. It remained 
a mystery until after the comrade was discharged, when, free from military 
discipline, he told the story, and even the officers had to laugh over their 
own discomfiture. 

Captain Rockwell says: "The officers referred to cannot have been 
the officers of the Battery, for they never had any cow, so far as I know. 
The only milk I ever had was condensed milk, and no South Carolina cow 
could give that." 

At the end of July, all the buildings in the city that could be made 
available being used for hospital purposes, it was thought advisable to have 
a summer camp a little out of the city. A very pretty site was chosen, on 
a bend of the river about a mile from Beaufort, and known as Pigeon Point. 
It proved a pleasant change and the health of the comrades improved, 
and as their bodies grew stronger so their spirits grew more animated, for 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 191 

the oppressiveness of the city atmosphere had given many a feehng of 
lassitude, as is shown by the reading of the diaries kept by the comrades at 
that time. 

The comrades named the camp at Pigeon Point Camp Seward, after 
the genial Lieutenant, who appreciated the honor and treated the Battery to 
some lemonade, with a good stiff stick in it, whereupon they voted that he 
was a real good fellow and expressed a hope that he would be promoted to 
the very highest rank in the army. 

The air was full of rumors, sometimes causing the greatest joy, as when 
it was said that Richmond had fallen, and then the spirits would sink to 
zero by hearing a rumor that " Little Mac" had been surrounded and com- 
pelled to surrender. After a time these rumors were treated as jokes and 
no notice taken of them unless an official bulletin corroborated them. 

Lieutenant Metcalf, anxious that the comrades should become proficient 
in pistol shooting, offered a prize to be competed for by the members. The 
result occasioned considerable amusement, for the prize was won by Comrade 
Gridley, who could not see the bull's eye and had fired at random. 

No matter how hot the weather some men will have whiskey if it be 
within reach. There seems to be a strange fascination about the fiery spirit 
for some men. 

There were not many in the Battery who cared enough for whiskey to 
run any risk, but those who did often placed themselves in danger of arrest 
and punishment. 

A barrel of whiskey had been sent to Pigeon Point for the use of the 
sick. Some of the comrades thought that if it were good for those who 
were not well it was better for strong and healtliy ones; besides, they had a 
good, old-fashioned belief that prevention was better than cure, and if ma- 
laria could be cured by whiskey why shouldn't it be prevented by the same 
medicine ? They argued in this way until they began to plan how to get 
the whiskey. It was no use applying to the doctor, for if they had done so 
they would have received a dose of squills. To appeal to the officers was 
equally out of the question, so some other means must be resorted to. 

It happened that one of the tents was within a few feet of where the 
barrel was standing. The barrel was in full view of the guard, so it could 
not be attacked openly. It was found that by pushing the canvas of the 



192 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

tent a little back it would just touch the side of the barrel. Then a comrade 
produced a gimlet, and soon a hole was bored through the canvas and the 
barrel. Whiskey, like water, will flow out of a vessel if it can find a hole, 
so a stream spurted into the tent. At first the comrades who were not 
temperance men placed their mouths to the hole, but that was not satisfac- 
tory, for even a hard drinker must take breath, and, therefore, good spirit 
would be lost. Comrade Mark Hall had a fine coffee pot, and he loaned it 
to the comrades. The coffee pot was filled with whiskey, and then the hole 
in the barrel was plugged until the pot was empty. P'earful that the supply 
might be cut off by the removal of the barrel the comrades brought their 
canteens and " borrowed Mark Hall's coffee pot." Until the barrel was 
empty there was no more popular article in camp than " Mark Hall's coffee 
pot." It was not known how the whiskey disappeard from the barrel, but 
as one day the Captain's " nigger " was found rolling about drunk, suspicion 
fell on him and he was discharged. 

One of the comrades tells a good story of a brother comrade on whom a 
practical joke was played at Pigeon Point. 

"Comrade Richardson, one of those men who was always putting him- 
self in a position to have jokes played upon him," he says, "one day at the 
camp was lying fast asleep on his back, his mouth wide open. FHes were 
playing aroimd and in it, but the comrade having been on guard the night 
before, slept as soundly as a child. Flies did not trouble him in the least. 
One of our men, wondering how Richardson could sleep with all those flies 
feeding in his mouth, concluded to test the comrade's ability in that direc- 
tion to the extreme limit. He went to the river bank and caught a fidler 
crab and dropped it, alive, into the comrade's mouth with the flies. This 
was too much. The comrade jumped to his feet and began to swear in two 
languages, all the time gagging and spitting; he was so mad and startled 
that the oaths known in one language were too tame to express his feelings 
on that occasion. He declared, while in the frenzy, that if he could find 
the 'son of a gun who had done it ' he w^ould kill him. Fortunately for the 
comrade who had perpetrated the joke his identity was never divulged." 

A fidler crab is a small crustacean about the size of an individual butter 
plate, or an inch and a half across the back. The antics it would play in 
the comrade's mouth can better be imagined than described. 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 



193 



Comrade Dickinson tells a story of an amusing incident which enlivened 
the monotony at Pigeon Point one afternoon. Artificer William Hanna had 
been away from camp and returned just after watering- call. He rode, at 
a furious rate through the camp, yelling at every leap of his horse: 
" Kape yer eye on the agle." 

Reaching the picket rope, his horse rushed imder it and landed the 
excited artificer on his back on the ground. The comrades who had wit- 
nessed the circus took up the cry and never forgot it during the rest of their 
enlistment. 

Comrade John Loomis, in company with Comrades George Ingraham, 
William Fowler, Joseph Fowler, Wells and Dwight Hall, had a narrow escape 

from punishment for an escapade during 
^ picket duty while the Battery was at Pigeon 

^^'^^ . Point. The right section had been sent across 

fi V the island on picket duty, and one afternoon 

M ^ the comrades started off on a tramp to the 

brickyards, a few miles distant. As they 
passed through a beautiful live oak grove they 
observed many bees flying in and out of one of 
the large trees, and Comrade Wells, after climb- 
ing one tree some twenty-five feet, discovered a 
bees nest in a big branch which it would be 
necessary to cut off in order to get the honey. 
As he was descending he observed a hole in a 

JOHN LOOMIS, 

of Hebron. large branch adjoining, and, peering into the 

Enlisted Dec. 2, '6i; mustered in same ^, , , - ,.,. jriir 

day; discharged Dec. 2, '64, time ex- darkucss, he almost lost his balance and tell, tor 

pi red. 

staring at him was a pair of very bright eyes. 
The eyes got nearer, and he called out to his comrades to throw up a club, 
and be also prepared to be ready to dispatch the animal if he escaped his 
assault. In a few seconds of time a fine opossum appeared. The attacking 
party outnumbering the enemy three to one, the latter was soon dispatched, 
and the comrades hastened back to camp with mingled emotions, caused by 
dubious fears and expectations of being able to sneak into camp unobserved 
by the officers and happy in the thought of hot biscuits and honey and 
baked 'possum stuffed with sweet potatoes and hard tack. They succeeded 




194 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

in entering camp and at once secured buckets, brimstone, matches and an 
ax, ready to set forth to get all the honey guarded by a myriad of bees. 
The tree was reached, the bees driven away, and the dangerous feat of 
cutting into a tree at that great height accomplished, when, instead of the 
amber sweets they had expected, only a handful of empty honeycombs 
rewarded their labor. Crestfallen and disconsolate the comrades retraced 
their steps toward the camp, where a new surprise awaited them. The 
camp was deserted. Comrades, 'possimi and tents had all gone. During 
their short absence marching orders had come and the section had started to 
Beaufort. With empty buckets, and equally empty stomachs, they hurried 
after their comrades, overtaking them before they reached Beaufort. We 
expected severe disciplining, but came to the conclusion when we escaped 
that acting- Lieutenant Bliss, who commanded our section, never reported 
us to Captain Rockwell. 

Some few of the comrades were always getting into scrapes and suffering 
punishment. Comrade Henry Smith was one of these. One day he was 
ordered to stand on a barrel as a punishment. The Sergeant of the guard 
ordered him to get on the barrel. Smith answered that he knew better than 
that and declined the invitation, saying he "was not in that kind of 
business." The Sergeant appealed to Lieut. Seward, who said that the 
order must be obeyed. He told the Sergeant to get a rope and tie the 
comrade's feet together, and if he would not stand on his feet on the barrel, 
to make him stand on his head. Smith saw that he had bucked up against 
a stone wall and naturally preferred standing on his feet. On one occasion 
a clergyman who lived near the camp came to make complaint against 
Comrade Smith. It appeared that Smith had been very fond of one of the 
girls employed by the dominie and had frequently spent the evening with 
her. One night he stayed too late and so compromised the girl, which, 
coming to the ears of the dominie, highly enraged him. He came to camp 
and demanded that Smith should be court-martialed. Lieut. Seward told 
him that the soldier had not violated any military law as far as he could find 
out. This still further enraged the clergyman, who was not any too fond of 
the soldiers. He went around telling his grievances and at last got some 
one to prefer charges against Smith. The Provost-guard ordered the 
comrade into arrest. Smith sent for Lieut. Seward and asked him to be his 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 195 

counsel and defend him. The Lieutenant wanted to do so but he had but 
little knowledge of court-martial proceedings, so he sought the Judge- 
Advocate and told him about the case, asking if he knew any young officer 
who would defend the comrade. The Judge-Advocate listened attentively 
and then said: "You do not need a lawyer. There can be no case against 
Smith." That was enough, the comrade was cleared without a trial, the 
case being decided on technicalities. 

About this time a number of colored regiments were being formed and 
many of the comrades who had good friends and political backing applied 
for commissions. Among those who were fortunate was Comrade Luther 
Riggs, of Hebron, who received a commission as Lieutenant in the ist 
South Carolina Volunteers, colored, which was organized at Smith's 
plantation. 

Comrade Riggs was better fitted for the officers' quarters than the 
privates' mess, for he was fastidious, and did not take kindly to the hardships 
of a private's life. As one of the comrades said: "Riggs would have been 
all very well if the army regulations had provided him with a servant." On 
one occasion Comrade Riggs was on guard duty and was late in returning 
for dinner. "Corporal, where is my dinner?" he asked in a lordly manner. 
"In the messpot, " was the answer. It so happened that the comrades in 
that particular tent had been either very hungry or had forgotten their 
comrade, for nothing was found in the pot but one potato. Comrade Riggs 
was angry, he made a formal complaint, and told the comrades that "they 
ought to have more consideration for men on guard. " 

While the comrades were enjoying the pleasures of Pigeon Point an 
order came for the left section to hitch up and be ready to leave for some 
place where the thunder of the guns and the skilful marksmanship of the 
gunners might help to keep Old Glory floating 

"O'er the land of the free, the home of the brave." 

During the stay at Camp Seward, Artificers John R. Hull and Leeds 
Brown had an exciting experience, which is well told by Comrade Hull. 

"Leeds Brown, who was better known in the Battery as Daddy Brown, 
because he had a son in our company who was a driver, and I, were de- 
tailed by Capt. Rockwell, by order of Gen. Hunter, to find a saw mill 
somewhere on Ladies or some adjacent island. 



196 



HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 



"Next morning, after receiving our orders, and taking plenty of salt 
■pork and hard tack, an old darky rowed us across Port Royal River, in 
his dug-out, to Ladies Island. We walked miles through sand and under 
a blazing sun looking for the saw mill. No one seemed to know of any 
mill, and we were about discoiiraged and nearly prostrate with the heat, 
when, by accident, we discovered the mill. It was located on Coosaw 
River, just across a narrow channel from Ladies Island. We found a skiff 
on the shore and rowed over to Coosaw. The mill was in very fair 
condition, the engine had been well cared for and the boilers were in good 
order. Having performed our duty, it was in order to return to camp, but 

I proposed to Daddy Brown that we should make 
a reconnoissance of the place. 

"We had not been looking about very long 
when I saw a man coming toward us. We 
crouched on the groi;nd and waited until we 
could see whether he was friend or foe. We 
found that he was a colored man, and Brown 
wanted to advance and meet him, but I was 
cautious, knowing that we were in a strange coun- 
try; so we let him come to us. We had no arms, 
save our revolvers, and so it was necessary that 
we should be careful. I questioned the man, 
and, among other things, asked him if the rebels 
ever came there, and he answered in the dialect 
peculiar to the South Carolina nigger, as all 
colored people are called in the South. He 
said : ' Massa, da brot dere guns wid 'em when 
da kem.' We knew then it was dangerous to stay, for the enemy would 
be pleased to get us as prisoners of war, and we did not relish a residence 
in that place of horrors, known as Andersonville, where thousands of our 
best and bravest heroes died of disease and starvation. We hurried back to 
camp, but before we left the island we had proof that the enemy was lurk- 
ing round and that we had a very narrow escape." 

That saw mill proved to be of the greatest advantage to the Unionist 
army. Two weeks after Artificers Hull and Brown had found it, Gen. 
Hunter had it in working order, and millions of feet of hmiber were 
sawed for the use of the arm3\ 




JOHN R. HULL, 
of Bridgeport 

Enlisted Oct. 14 '61; mustered 
in Nov. 2. as Artificer; re-en- 
listed Veteran Dec. 29, '63; dis- 
charged July 24, '65. 



CHAPTER IX. 



ST. JOHN'S BLUFF. 




SOLDIER'S life, during- the war, is very uncertain, and 
so there was no occasion for surprise when all the com- 
rades were settled comfortably at Pigeon Point, and the 
days were spent in wondering whether the Battery 
would again engage in active service against the enemy, 
that an order came for the left section to be ready to 
2*^ proceed to Hilton Head. 
After Hilton Head, where? That was only conjecture. If the officers 
knew, the men did not. Comrade Hotchkiss, who was very observant, and 
often picked up scraps of information, wrote in his diary under date Sept. 
72, 1862: "Left section, two guns, Lieutenant Cannon, left camp on some 
expedition; Captain also went;" and three days later: "One regiment from 
here, several from Hilton Head, were in the expedition in which our left 
section went, but don't know where. Two sections of Hamilton's Battery 
also went." 

General Brannan refused to grant Captain Rockwell's request to be 
allowed to go in command, on the ground that a section w^as properly a Lieu- 
tenant's command, and that Lieutenant Cannon was entitled to the privilege 
of commanding his own section. The General, however, attached the Cap- 
tain to his staff as an additional aide for the expedition. 

One of the first lessons a soldier has to learn is that he is no longer an 
independent creature but a portion of a great machine, moved and operated 
by the will of his commander. A good soldier must be prepared to obey 
without c|uestion. 

The parting was affecting, for all felt that the Battery might never 



198 HISTORY AND FEMINISCENCES 

again be in camp altogether, and that some of the comrades would never 
clasp hands with their friends on earth. 

On September 30 the left section went on board the steamer Cosmo- 
politan and left Beaufort at noon, stopping at Hilton Head a short time for 
instructions, and leaving there at sunset. 

At 10 o'clock the next morning the Cosmopolitan was off the mouth of 
the St. John's River, and the comrades got their first glimpse of sunny 
Florida. The Cosmopolitan was sent back to Fernandina with dispatches, 
making the trip in four hours, arriving back at the mouth of the St. John's 
at 4 P. M. The Cosmopolitan was sent up the river, and the comrades 
saw the Confederate flag floating from the fort on St. John's Bluff, 

In unloading, the horses were thrown overboard and mostly made for a 
sand bank about a quarter of a mile from the steamer, but in one or two 
cases they put out to sea and had to be chased by the boat's crew in a small 
boat. In this way one horse was drowned and Gen. Brannan's horse had its 
leg broken and had to be killed. It was late that night before the 
Cosmopolitan was unloaded and the comrades had to remain on the bank 
among the sand hills all night. 

It was not until the Cosmopolitan was at anchor in the river that the left 
section knew the object of the expedition. Comrade Griswold wrote: "We 
entered the St. John's River at night, and the immense drifts of white sand 
piled up upon the shore reminded us of snow. We anchored that night in 
the river abreast of Mayport, where there was a large sawmill. We now 
learned that we had been sent to capture Fort Finegan, situated upon 
St. John's Bluff, on a bend of the river. It was a strong position and 
seemed to be impregnable to any force that could be sent against it." 

The enemy thought the same as Comrade Griswold, for not only was 
the fort well armed but the country between the river and the Bluff 
presented great difficulties in the transportation of troops, being intersected 
with impassable swamps and unfordable creeks, and presenting the 
alternative of a march, without land transportation, of nearly forty miles, 
to turn the head of the creek, or to land up the river at a strongly guarded 
position of the enemy. 

Brig. -Gen. Brannan was in command, and in his official report defines 
the object of the expedition: 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 199 

"In accordance with orders received from Headquarters, Department 
of the South, I assumed command of the following forces, intended to 
operate against the rebel batteries at St. John's Bluff and such other parts 
of the St. John's River as should contain rebel works: The 47th Regiment, 
Pennsylvania Volunteers, Col. T. H. Good, effective strength, 825 ; 7th 
Regiment, Connecticut Volunteers, Col. Joseph R. Hawley, effective 
strength, 647 ; section of First Connecticut Light Battery, Lieut. Cannon, 
effective strength, 41 ; detachment of ist Massachusetts Cavalry, Capt. 
Case, effective strength, 60. Total, 1,573." 

The expedition left Hilton Head on the afternoon of Sept. 30, on 
transports Ben De Ford^ Boston, Cosmopolitan and Neptune, and ar- 
rived off the bar of St. John's River early on the following morning, 
October i, 1862. 

The land forces were augmented by a fleet of gunboats, and on the 
expedition coming within the river, three gunboats were sent up to feel 
the position of the enemy and were immediately and warmly engaged by 
the enemy's batteries, of heavy armament, on the Bluff. 

The place where the section landed was known as Mayport Mills, and 
had evidently at one time been of considerable importance, for there were 
two or three large sawmills supplied with gang saws, which gave evidence 
of cutting a large amount of lumber. Several small cottages, containing 
three or four rooms, were built on the sand and had most probably been 
occupied by the lumbermen ; they appeared as though they had been 
standing empty six or seven months. The wind had drifted the white 
sand about them until some of the drifts were twenty-five feet high and so 
compactly made that it was possible for the comrades to walk up the sand 
drifts and on the roofs of the houses and look down the chimnies. One 
of the comrades was a soldier who had served in the Mexican war and 
remembered the procedure of those days. He lighted a pine torch and 
commenced setting the houses on fire. He was surprised when ordered 
to stop the depredation. Captain Rockwell chased him with a revolver 
drawn, threatening to shoot him if he did not stop. The man dodged from 
one building to another and finally ran into the midst of his comrades, who 
tried to screen him, but he was known and placed under arrest. The man's 
idea seemed to be that it was a soldier's privilege to plunder on the 



200 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

enemy's soil, and he was surprised when he was told that nothing of that 
kind was permitted in the Union army. 

The scouts reported that the infantry could land at a place known as 
Buckhorn Creek, between Pablo and Mount Pleasant Creeks, but the ground 
was altogether too swampy for either cavalry or artillery to land at that 
point; the artillery was ordered to reload on a light draught steamer and 
flatboats and proceed up a winding creek to a point in the marsh where it 
was more practicable to land. 

The gunboats were called into requisition to transport the infantry, in 
tlieir boats, to the land and to send their light howitzers to cover the 
landing. 

The entire force of infantry and the marine howitzers proceeded up the 
river a little distance and landed at the head of Mount Pleasant Creek, where 
Colonel Good established a strong position to cover the landing of the 
artillery and cavalr3\ 

So promptly and with such skill was the movement executed that the 
enemy's outer pickets were surprised and fled in such haste not staying to 
finish their breakfast, which they were engaged in eating, and left behind 
them their tents standing, their arms and a great portion of their clothing. 
Had it not been for the intricate nature of the ground the detachment would 
have been captured, but the Unionists were strangers to the country and 
unacquainted with the short cuts across the swamp. 

While the infantry was making a landing and establishing a strong 
position, the left section was loading, in the midst of a very heavy rain 
storm, on board the Neptune. The comrades were ordered to take two 
days' rations of raw pork, salt junk and hard bread, their surplus clothes 
being- left on the Cosmopolitan. 

Lieutenant Cannon was in command of the left section and had received 
orders to sail up the creek to a certain point in the marsh and lowland 
which would be available. A negro guide was relied on to guide him to the 
landing place where the section was ordered to take position. The captain 
of the Neptune was drunk and the guide informed Lieutenant Cannon that 
the shore would not be reached if the captain remained at the wheel, so the 
negro was put in charge, but if the captain was drunk, the negro was in- 
capable, for he ran the Neptune into a mud bank, where it stuck fast. It 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 201 

was impossible to wait until the tide rose, as the infantry expected the 
Battery on shore to move with the balance of the troops at daybreak. 

" A number of small flats were sent to our rescue, landing us at our 
destination about 6 a. m. right in one of those great Florida swamps and 
marshes, among rattlesnakes, copperheads, centipedes, alligators and many 
other poisonous reptiles and insects," Historian Beecher recalls. "We were 
informed that the natives never dare venture into that swamp, except in 
mid-winter, and even then they selected the coldest days when no sun was 
shining. The cook and his assistant selected a spot to make the coffee ; it 
was near a large palmetto jungle. I well remember, when just as the fire 
was burning nicely, out crawled a huge rattlesnake from the palmetto 
grove. The heat of the fire had roused him from his lethargic sleep and 
the aromatic fragrance of the coffee was too much for him. Everyone who 
saw the reptile had a shot at him with pistols, making him surrender very 
quickly. He measured nine feet in length and had ten rattles. In his 
death struggles he emitted an odor, a sort of sickening musk, that scented 
the entire camp." 

Comrade Hart Landon, in writing about this episode, says: "Upon 
landing, the first enemy we encountered was a very large rattlesnake, which 
we despatched in short order." 

The infantry who skirmished through those swamps told, and still tell, 
some of the biggest snake stories ever narrated or even dreamed. It was 
true that some of the snakes bayoneted by the infantry were left stretched 
across the road and fairly blocked the way, forming such a barrier that it 
was doubtful whether the guns could have been got over them. The horses 
would not try to step over these snakes, and so the barrier of reptiles had 
to be removed. It often took more than one man to roll a snake on one 
side so that the horses could pass. There was something about those Florida 
snakes highly distasteful to the horses, and as soon as a horse inhaled the 
odor from one of them he became frightened and almost unmanagable. 

According to the report of Colonel Good, it was on the evening of Octo- 
ber 2 that " Lieutenant Cannon reported that his command, consisting of 
one section of the First Connecticut Battery, was then coming up the creek 
on flatboats with a view of landing." About 4 o'clock on the following 
morning a safe landing was effected, and the command was ready to move. 



202 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

The enemy was frightened and asked for reinforcements. Brig. -Gen. 
Joseph Finegan, commanding the Confederate forces of Middle and East 
Florida, wrote to the Adjutant and Inspector General: " I am hard pressed 
on the St. John's River; 3,000 men reported by the commanding officer 
at St. John's Bluff as having landed at Mayport Mills. Please send me 
one regiment of infantry as soon as possible." 

And on the same day, in a letter to the Hon. James S. Baker, A. E. 
Maxwell, James B. Dawkins and R. B. Hilton, he says: 

"I am hard pressed on Saint John's River. The commanding officer 
at St. John's Bluff reports 3,000 Federals are being landed at Mayport 
Mills. The enemy engaged our batteries 3^esterday for the third time and 
were repulsed. I have not sufficient men to resist a land attack if made in 
force. Do go at once to the Secretary and get one or two regiments of 
infantry from the coast of Georgia. If I had them for a few days it might 
save the St. John's River, and perhaps East Florida." 

The gunboats made a reconnoissance on the river and were warmly en- 
gaged by the enemy, on which the}^ withdrew. When the cavalry and Light 
Battery section had been landed Captain Steedman sent three gunboats to 
feel the position of the enemy, shelling them as they advanced, when to 
the astonishment of the Unionists the batteries were found to be evacuated. 

When the section reached Fort Finegan it was reported that the infan- 
try scouts had found the Confederate flag flying, and evidences everywhere 
of a hasty departure as though surprised. It was so unusual for the enemy 
to leave colors behind, unless compelled, that the Captain of the Scouts 
became suspicious and thought something was wrong, so he ordered one of 
the Confederate prisoners to haul down the flag. The prisoner declined, 
saying, that there was a wire attached to the flag which connected it with a 
mine arranged to blow up whoever hauled it down. On investigation this 
was found to be the case; the wire was cut, the flag hauled down, and no 
one was hurt. Lieutenant Snell, U. S. Navy, raising the Stars and Stripes 
in its place. 

Comrade Griswold saw the raising of the flag from a distance, 
for he was ordered "to remain on the Nepttme and see that every- 
thing was removed from the steamer on the flats," he says, "but a 
part of a caisson the flatboats neglected to take, and so I had to remain on 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 203 

board the transport. I witnessed a sight which was interesting; the naval 
fleet moving up the river and the land forces commencing their march. 
After a few shots were sent into the fort and no reply was made, up went Old 
Glory amid the huzzas of the land force and the blowing of whistles of the 
gunboats and transports. The enemy had got scared, as our bungling and 
loading and unloading so many nights had led them to believe that the 
whole Union army was coming." 

The evacuation of St. John's Bluff was a surprise to all. General 
Brannan, in his official report, says. " I am at loss to account for this sud- 
den evacuation on the part of the rebels, as, in addition to a most skilfully 
constructed line of defence, the position possesses natural advantages which 
render it almost impregnable, and, with the number of men which I knew 
to have occupied it, the position might have been maintained for a consider- 
able time and the task of reducing it rendered it one of extreme difficulty 
and danger to a much larger force than I had at my disposal." The Con- 
federate commander reported that " the abandonment of the fort by Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel Hopkins, the commanding officer, was a gross military blunder 
that may require investigation." 

It is fair to state that an investigation was made, and the Court exoner- 
ated Lieutenant-Colonel Hopkins, declaring that from the reports he had 
received concerning the strength of the Unionists he acted wisely in evacu- 
ating the fort. 

The Union forces took possession of the fort and the Battery men assisted 
in the work of dismounting the guns and removing them and the ammuni- 
tion on board the transport Neptune, which work was completed by the yth, 
when the Neptune sailed for Hilton Head, The entire works were 
then destroyed. 

While waiting on the banks of the St. John's watching, and shooting at 
alligators, fighting gnats, fleas and sand-flies, scouting and foraging parties 
were sent out for beef or anything fresh that was fit to eat. Comrade 
Landon remembers how low the commissary supply was getting, for many 
of the comrades had got rid of their three days' rations, which they had 
been ordered to take in their haversacks, the first day. 

The foragers found some Florida cattle which were called steers and 
cows, but were not much larger than the ordinary yearling raised on the 



204 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

Western farms. The men were very hungry for any fresh beef or fish, and 
so were not particular about the size, color or condition of these scraggy, 
lean cattle. As they drove them into camp they made their calculations 
for a pleasant little feast, but to their great surprise they got little save the 
head, horns, tail and hide or other parts which the officers found too tough 
to masticate. The next time the foraging party wxnt out, three or four 
Battery comrades, including Dwight Hall and Durgin, showed the others 
how to get the best of the officers. As they approached within about half- 
a-mile of the camp they selected one of the finest steers which they 
had captured, and, driving it into a small patch of woods, shot it 
down, butchered it on the spot and filled their haversacks with the 
finest cuts. They then drove the others into camp to be slaughtered for 
the officers. "In the foraging party," a comrade writes, "were two 
or three butchers, so they were able to do the work expeditiously, and in 
consequence we had fresh beef this time, all choice cuts, which made us feel 
particularly good and satisfied with the commanding officer, ourselves and 
everyone else." 

The comrades enjoyed good fishing off the old dock at Mayport jSIills, 
but Comrade Dickinson declares that the "mosquitoes had more fun, I 
guess, than the boys. They were so big that they would bite through the 
blankets with which the comrades would cover their heads, and the only 
sure defence against them was a thick smudge." 

During the time the section was awaiting orders the men amused 
themselves watching and hunting alligators. It was understood that the 
only way to kill an alligator was to hit him in the eye. Many shots were 
fired at the supposed vulnerable part of the reptiles as they poked their heads 
above the water, but none took effect, no pistol or rifle ball would penetrate 
the thick hide. Not succeeding in shooting the alligator's eyes, the comrades 
planned to trap one. Near the bank of the river was a cellar where a house 
had once stood, but which had been burned down. At night the alligator 
crawled on land looking for food, the smell of blood from the Quarter- 
master's Department where cattle had been slaughtered attracted the 
reptiles and their barking could be heard during all hours of the night. 
The men placed a quantity of offal and waste matter into the cellar and 
then made a causeway for the alligator to enter. When once in the plan was 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 205 

to block up the causeway and so trap the alligator. Just as expected, Mister 
'Gator walked into the cellar and commenced feeding. The night was very 
dark and the men had a dreary time waiting, but at last they reported that 
the alligator was trapped. The next difficulty was how to secure him ; 
firing was not allowed at night, as that would create an alarm and turn out 
the entiry army. No one cared to venture into the cellar and put a halter 
round the 'gator's neck; besides it was too dark, and the darkness made the 
reptile look at least forty feet long and big enough to swallow every man in 
sight. Some suggested clubbing the 'gator, others said it would be better 
to close up the causeway and wait until daylight. Nearly a hundred sugges- 
tions were made in less than fifteen minutes as to the best way to capture 
the alligator they had so nicely trapped and so well fed. Some went 
for ropes, others got their gtms with bayonets fixed, others commenced 
blocking up the causeway, but they had reckoned without their host, for 
while making these preparations Mr. 'Gator made a charge and walked out 
of the cellar on his tail. In his mouth he carried a steer's head, making him 
look like one of the fabled monsters of antiquity, and would have made a 
splendid object for the pencil of Gustave Dore to perpetuate on canvas, for 
with the body of an alligator he had the head and horns of a steer. Some 
of the men thought they had trapped a sea serpent instead of an alligator, 
and as the creature made his bold charge the comrades were paralyzed with 
fear, allowing the alligator to walk into the water with the steer's head un- 
harmed. Many were the jokes and stories told about the way those com- 
rades engaged in the scheme, ran, hid and tried to get out of the way when 
the alligator made his charge. One of the comrades nearest the 'gator 
when he raised up on his tail was nearly paralyzed, and ran away shouting: 
' ' Great Heavens ! It's the Devil ! ! It's the Devil ! ! ! " 

The section left St. John's Bluff on October 12 on board the steamer 
Darlington. As Lieutenant Cannon had been taken ill. Captain Rockwell 
assumed command. That return to Beaufort was one never to be forgot- 
ten. The Darlington was a small side-wheel steamer, captured from the 
enemy, and built for river and inland waters. 

Although the section was loaded on the Darlington on the 12th of 
October, the steamer did not sail until the evening of the next day. On the 
night of the 12th the horses were disembarked and stayed with the men on 



206 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

a sand bank, where gnats and mosquitoes were so bad that big fires had 
to be lighted to keep them away. At 8 a. m. on the 13th the section again 
embarked and the steamer put out to sea, but had to return and stay in War- 
saw Sound all night. 

" We found a heavy sea outside," says Comrade Griswold, "and when 
crossing the bar at the mouth of the river it was evident that it was at great 
risks that we went outside into the heavy sea. General Brannan signalled 
Captain Rockwell that we could take the inland route if we preferred, so 
we turned about and proceeded up the river again, taking a company of 
infantry on board. This was a trip never to be forgotten, full of excitement 
and amusement. 

"These inland creeks are many and very crooked; often we went 
several miles to gain one. A good pilot was required. As we proceeded 
on the first part of the route alligators without number would slide off the 
banks into the water. When we came near any point of the woods we 
would shell them, often starting out the enemy's cavalry. Wild horses and 
cattle were numerous. The tide would often leave us aground, and we 
would go on shore after beef, or in the creeks after clams and oysters, 
which were abundant." 

In a comrade's diary it is recorded that the steamer Darlington 
frequently run into a sand bank, and that it usually had " to remain fast 
until the tide helped float it, though by casting anchor ahead and using the 
capstan we kept trying to haul the steamer over the mud and sand bars. 
During these waits for the tide the men occupied their time catching clams, 
on the sand bars, that the tide had left dry, and fishing over the sides of the 
steamer. Some of the time was occupied firing shells across the marsh to 
the mainland whenever any indications of Confederate camps were seen." 

" We stopped awhile at Fernandina, but were not allowed to go on 
shore," says Comrade Griswold. " We stopped at a large plantation on St. 
Simeon's Island in Georgia for wood. The orange groves looked beautiful 
with their loads of golden fruit. The colored people were on the deck with 
the rich, ripe fruit for sale very cheap, but some of the comrades thought 
that it would be cheaper to help themselves from the trees. When we landed 
a guard had been stationed with orders to allow no one to leave the deck, but 
some of the boys crawled up under the banks of the creek and loaded them- 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 207 

selves with bushels of the largest and richest fruit they could find, but after 
the steamer had started and they sat down to enjoy their fruit they found it 
to be sourer than lemons, and they knew they had thought more of looks 
than quality. 

" Daring this trip one of my tentmates, who had left the graduating 
class in Yale college and enlisted as a recruit, was very sick, and I got him 
a berth in one of the staterooms. I was caring for him and went to get him 
a cup of tea, and found another sick comrade occupying the upper berth. I 
put the cup of tea on a stool, and my chum had reached out his head and 
commenced sipping it, when, without warning, over came the head of the 
comrade in the upper berth and a deluge was launched upon the head of my 
chum, while a voice from above said: 'I did not mean to puke.' My chum 
turned his dripping head and face upward and uttered just one expressive 
word: ' Hog.' " 

The Yale student referred to by Comrade Griswold was George W. 
Baird, of Milford, who was not accustomed to the rough life he had to 
endure, for by some chance he got the worst tent and had to endure many 
unpleasant experiences. Comrade Baird was transferred on December 19, 
1863, to the 41st Company, Second Battalion, V. R. C. Being taken sick he 
was sent North, and, a little later, having passed the examinations before the 
Casey Board, he was commissioned Colonel of the 32d Regiment, U. S. 
Colored Infantry, on March 18, 1864. It so happened that by the chances 
of the campaign, this same Light Battery, in which Col. Baird had served 
as a private, was actually for a short time part of the force under Col. 
Baird's command. Comrade Baird is now Assistant Paymaster-General of 
the U. S. Army. 

"We crossed the mouth of the Altahama River just at sunset and it was 
a beautiful sight," continues Comrade Griswold. "The following day we 
passed through several sounds and inlets, where we stopped and our papers 
were examined by the officers of the blockading squadrons stationed there. 
We left one of these sounds where there were three blockading vessels 
about 4 o'clock in the afternoon; the officers gave Capt. Rockwell all the 
information they could and told him if he got into trouble to be sure and 
signal them and they would come to our assistance. After it became dark 
Capt. Rockwell became somewhat fearful that the boat was not on her right 



208 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

course. The captain of the Darlington was, or pretended to be, somewhat 
intoxicated. The colored pilot was excited and nervous, and feared the 
captain of the steamer. Captain Rockwell had been in the pilot house for 
a long time, and about 8 o'clock he made the pilot admit that he was off the 
regular course. Captain Rockwell ordered the boat stopped; the captain of 
the Darlington refused and swore he would not stop. Our Captain drew his 
revolver and covered him, calling for a corporal and guard, placed the 
captain in irons and tmder arrest. The boat was stopped, with orders to 
keep the steam up ready to move at a moment's notice. We commenced 
firing blank cartridges and burning port fires, and kept it up all night, re- 
ceiving answering signals from the gunboats we had left in the sound. We 
also had signaling almost directly over heads all night, but could not under- 
stand what or where they were. We spent an anxious night, without 
sleep, waiting for morning. Just as morning was about to break, and we 
could see through the dark mist what looked like a black bank very high in 
the west, a boat with almost lightning speed, manned by marines armed to 
the teeth, as the saying is, came alongside us, and an officer springing upon 
our deck, exclaimed: ' Get on steam quick and get out of here or the Rebs 
will blow you out of the water in five minutes.' Our watchful Captain was 
ready for this, and in a moment we were backing down the creek. We 
found we had lain all night under the banks of the Confederate Fort McAl- 
lister, where the boat captain had evidently intended to surrender us. They 
did not dare fire on us in the dark for fear we might be some Confederate 
blockade runner in distress. The officer from the gunboat told us that they 
had seen our signal at 8 p. i\i., and knew we were in trouble, and several boats 
armed like his had been sent to our rescue, but they had roamed all night 
in the numerous winding creeks and that it was only by an accident he had 
come upon lis when he did. When we were beyond the range of the 
enemy's guns we were given the right directions and pursued our way to 
Savannah, where we anchored for the night, and proceeded in the morning 
to Beaufort. While at Savannah we noticed Tybee Island, where our forces 
were stationed that compelled Fort Pulaski to surrender. The fort showed 
plainly the effects of shot and shell. We were greeted with cheers when 
we joined our comrades in camp at Beaufort." 

Brig.-Gen. Brannan officially reported: "I am under obligation toCapt. 
A. P. Rockwell, First Connecticut Light Battery, who acted as additional 
aide-de-camp." 



CHAPTER X. 



WINTER IN CAMP. 




HEN Lieutenant Cannon and his section returned from 
Florida, the men in good health, the horses none the 
worse for their long trip and the worthy Lieutenant 
proud of his work at St. John's Bluff, an order from 
Washington caused him considerable annoyance. 
At the same time an order was received by Col. 
Chatfield, commading the 6th Connecticut, which 
was also unpleasant. The whole camp felt gloomy when it was known that 
the order was issued for the discharge of all regimental bands, and it was felt 
that when the 6th Connecticut band left Beaufort would be a gloomy place, 
for the strains of sweet music which had enlivened the camp had kept up the 
spirits of the men and made them more reconciled to the hardships of a 
soldier's life. The First Light Battery had enjoyed the music and the 
comrades joined their brothers of the 6th in regretting the order. 

But the Battery had a grievance of its own. "General Order No- 
126," issued by the War Department reduced the organization of Light 
Batteries to four guns and two lieutenants. This order meant that Lieut. 
Seward and Cannon would be relieved from their duties and honorably 
discharged from the service. 

Lieut. Seward, always active, always ready for emergencies, at once 
asked, and obtained leave, to visit Hilton Head to consult Gen. O. M. 
Mitchel, then Commanding the Department of the South. The General 
read the order, frowned, then read it again, threw the paper down on his 
table, muttered something to himself, and turning to Lieut. Seward said: 

"This is a General Order and I must execute it. How does it affect 
you?" 



210 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

"I am junior Second Lieutenant of the First Connecticut Light Bat- 
tery," answered Comrade Seward. 

" I see, so you are to be discharged. Too bad, too bad." 

" If I have to go, can I leave at once? " 

"Why are you in such a hurry? " Gen. Mitchel asked. 

" The Governor of Connecticut has issued a call for more troops and if I 
could get back at once there might be a chance for me in some regiment." 

" So you do not wish to leave the service? " 

" No, General, not until Old Glory waves over all the States." 

"I will give you a letter to Gov. Buckingham and I think that will 
place you." 

Lieut. Seward thanked him and the General called in the mustering 
officer, and in five minutes Lieut. Seward of the First Connecticut Light 
Battery was once more Citizen Seward of Guilford. 

But Comrade Seward had no need to present his letter to the Governor, 
for as he was going down the wharf at Hilton Head to take the steamer back 
to Beaufort he met Lieut. -Col. Hawley of the 7th Connecticut and told him 
what occurred, and that he was going home the next day. 

" Do you want to leave the service? " Hawley asked. 

" No, Colonel, I am hurrying North to get a position in some regiment.'' 

In an instant Col. Hawley offered him the position of First Lieutenant 
and Quartermaster of the gallant Seventh, which Comrade Seward promptly 
accepted, agreeing to return in thirty days. 

This ended Lieut. Seward's connection with the Light Battery, and he 
carried with him the best wishes of all his comrades, whose only regret was 
that he would no longer be their companion, friend and officer in the camp 
and field of strife. 

Lieut. Cannon accepted his discharge with good grace, and returned to 
his home in the North, there to play the part of good citizen as faithfully 
and well as he had performed the duties of an officer. 

The Battery again settled down to the regular routine of drill and 
discipline. Often rumors came of an anticipated attack by the enemy, and 
then the Battery would harness and hitch up and wait for the order to come 
for the march. 

When Lieutenant Metcalf arrived at the camp on September 16, 1862, with 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 211 

the first recruits it was found that he had some with him who were the very 
reverse of what the Battery had anticipated. The Government, in its 
extremity for men to fill the ranks, and to take the place of the killed, 
wounded and sick, had allowed great latitude to recruiting ofificers and 
physicians. The examining physicians were not particular about age, size 
or appearance of the men they passed. Among the recruits sent to the 
Battery was one web-footed, short, squatty, scraggy looking man who 
stood less than five feet, his height being further diminished by the slovenly 
manner in which he stood. When placed in line with the other recruits to 
await inspection he was the object of considerable laughter among the 
comrades, although they all hoped that he might even then be rejected for 
some reason. As the Captain walked down the line, the top of the recruit's 
head was fully two inches below the Captain's shoulder, and as he stood, 
with his legs sprawled out, he did not strike a very soldierly position. Capt. 
Rockwell looked down on him with an expression of supreme disgust, 
and turning to the sergeant said: 

"Sergeant, what the devil did they send that man here for?" 

The Sergeant saluted but could not answer that question. Lieut. 
Metcalf had to take what the Government provided and the Sergeant 
received the recruits from the Lieutenant. Not being fit for regular duty the 
recruit was detailed to take care of the reserve horses. The next day 
he groomed the horses, tied them to a picket rope and then strolled off, 
leaving the horses to their fate. He was never seen again by any member 
of the Battery. It is doubtful whether any search was made for him, for no 
one wanted him back. It was one instance where desertion was, perhaps, 
winked at. His absence was a relief to the comrades. 

In the latter part of October Gen. Mitchel conceived an expedition to 
proceed inland with a small force to burn the bridges between Charleston 
and Savannah. 

Capt. Rockwell received orders to be ready to join the first brigade, 
commanded by Col. Chatfield. 

The centre section was sent down to the ferry and crossed over to the 
mainland, at a point selected by the scouts who had been up the river on the 
Darlington making soundings. The other sections were still in camp ready 
to move at a moment's notice. The comrades heard the firing; their ears 



212 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

had become accustomed to the varied sounds, and they could tell the differ- 
ence between a shell and solid shot by the report, even though the guns were 
miles away. 

The excitement was intense. All the colored men on the Island were 
held in the camps and not one allowed to go out. 

It was late that night before the order came to unhitch and for the men 
to turn in. 

It was soon learned that the fighting had been in the neighborhood of 
Pocotaligo, but had not been participated in by the centre section, for at the 
last minute it had been replaced by a battery of regulars. 

The fighting was severe. A landing, under cover of the gunboats, had 
been effected near Mackay's Point. The enemy was encountered about 
three miles from Pocotaligo, and in two successive engagements was driven 
from strong positions, and finally compelled to retreat across the Pocotaligo 
River, destroying the bridge behind him. The fight continued from i 
o'clock to nearly 6 in the afternoon. A bayonet charge was made over 
causeways with the inost determined courage and with veteran firmness. 
After the destruction of the bridge the fight was continued on the banks of 
the river, but the rapidly approaching darkness and the want of ammunition 
rendered it necessary for the troops to return. A detachment of the 48th 
New York under Col. Barton had ascended the Coosawhatchie River 
to within one and a half miles of the village of Pocotaligo and effected 
a landing. With a detachment of engineers and mechanics. Col. Barton 
and his gallant 48th marched upon the village. When within about a 
hundred yards of the railroad a train of eight or ten cars came along at high 
speed, and was received by a volley from the Unionist infantry and a dis- 
charge from one of the naval howitzers. The engineer was killed, numbers 
of the enemy dropped from the platforms of the cars, showing how destruc- 
tive the fire had been, but the train continued to the village, where the 
enemy was re-inforced by the regiment which had come, just in the nick of 
time, on the train. 

The Union troops suffered severely. The 6th Connecticut realized 
some of the horrors of war, the regiment suffering heavily. Col. Chatfield 
and Lieut. -Col. Speidel were both struck with canister shots while gallantly 
leading their men. The 6th Connecticut and 47th Pennsylvania covered 



f.^'/.a',^>^ffKif, 



I 1 h) 




FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 215 

the retreat to the river. "The return was slow and tedious," writes 
Sergeant Cad well, the historian of 6th Connecticut, " as we carried off all 
our wounded and gently laid out our dead, covering them as far as we 
could with the blankets of the soldiers. The horrors of war were indeed 
sickening, as the rebels had every position in their favor and their fire was 
very destructive. Dead soldiers and horses lay in the woods as we passed ; 
broken gun carriages lined the road, and blankets, haversacks and rifles 
lay around in large numbers." 

The centre section escaped the glory and the dangers of this engage- 
ment, and returned to camp rather crestfallen at not being allowed to 
participate in such an eventful skirmish. 

A few days later news came to the camp that Gen. Ormsby M. Mitchel, 
the Commander of the Department, had died of yellow fever after an illness 
of only a few days. 

General Mitchel was mourned by ever}^ soldier in the command. He 
was a man in whom they had every confidence, and all would follow him 
without question. 

Three of his staff ofificers died with the same fever, and the men looked 
at each other with anxious faces as though asking: " Who will be the next? " 

The entire command attended the funeral, the 47th Pennsylvania 
regiment acted as escort, followed by the ist Massachusetts cavalry and 
four pieces of the First Connecticut Light Battery, a detachment from 
each of the other regiments, the naval otificers headed by Admiral Dupont, 
officers of the army on horseback, and agents of the Government. The 
service was in St. Helena Church, and never was a more impressive scene 
enacted within its walls. The salute of minute guns over the grave was 
fired by Rockwell's Battery. 

One of the pleasing features of the camp life was the fondness shown 
by the men to their horses. While doubtless there were some who were 
indifferent and even cruel to the faithful animals, the majority looked upon 
he horse as a friend. Comrade Hotchkiss, who was a most devout believer 
in Christianity, writes very pathetically in his diary under date of October 9, 
1862 : '• My horse is a good deal of company for me. I keep him near my 
tent, it is cooler than where the other horses are stabled. A few days ago 
I found it necessary to chastise him for the first time. I think it sharpened 



216 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

his faculties and he does not harbor any hard feelings over it either. He 
follows me round the field where the horses are taken out to grass. Often 
before I go to my bunk at night I go out to his stall, rest my head on my 
elbows on the feed box and ask God for his protection and care, and for the 
loved ones at home, and for our Nation, and during this prayer the horse 
will bring his face close to mine, stop eating, keeping perfectly still until I 
close, and then he will resume his eating, if he has anything to eat, which 
is not much sometimes. I am quite attached to my horse Charlie." 

During October there was considerable dissatisfaction and some very 
hard words used about an order which was being interpreted very strictly. 

There was a suspicion that in the boxes sent to the men from their 
homes quantities of whiskey and other prohibited things were secreted, so 
the Provost Marshal was ordered to open all the boxes and to confiscate any 
liquor found. The liquor was to be given to the hospital staff for the use of 
the sick. While the good people enjoying their comforts in their Northern 
homes would make any sacrifices to help the sick soldiers and to alleviate 
their pain, they did not wish the luxuries they sent to the loved one who 
was not sick to be side-tracked to the hospital. It need not be said that the 
comrades felt the same way. The order went into effect on the ist of 
October, and when the first lot of boxes arrived and were opened, and their 
prohibited contents removed, there was considerable swearmg, and it is on 
record that some, in their anger, declared that they would run away and 
join the enemy. Of course, they did not mean it, but it showed how badly 
they felt. Even one of the temperance men in the Battery said that the 
"ransacking of the boxes was too mean for anything." 

Prohibition does not always prohibit, and when a number of men make 
up their minds that they want beer or spirits they will generally find a way 
to obtain it. This was proved at Beaufort and in every camp. 

Owing to the fact that a few soldiers would get drunk and abuse their 
privileges, strict orders were issued against landing at Beaufort any kind of 
intoxicating liquors, including beer, the object being to keep it away from 
the private soldiers and all others who had been in the habit of drinking too 
much. The order was rigidly enforced, much to the displeasure and disgust 
of those few who felt that life was unendurable without a stimulant. 

On one occasion a vessel, filled with sutler's stores, was towed up 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 217 

the river to Beaufort. The captain and some of the sailors called at the 
Battery camp to see some old friends whom they had known at home. 
After the usual very glad greetings and inquiries about the home folks, the 
conversation turned on the difficulty of getting intoxicating liquors into 
the camp, and the sailors sympathized with the comrades in their strong 
desire to get some beer, telling them that there was plenty of beer on board 
the schooner but that they dare not unload it. 

"We would give you a keg if you could devise a plan to get it into 
camp without getting us into trouble," said the captain of the schooner; 
"you know that if we were caught violating the prohibitory law our 
schooner and cargo would be confiscated." 

"We know that, but we must have some beer," answered one of 
the comrades. 

After a little quiet conversation, carried on mostly in whispers, a plan 
was agreed upon. The sailors were to select a very dark night and put a 
keg of beer on shore just outside the patrol line, about three-quarters of a 
mile down the river, burying the keg deeply in the sand at a point well- 
known to the comrades. At night the patrol guard was doubled so the 
work required extra caution. 

A fatigue party was detailed every two or three days to go down the 
river after wood for the cook tent and had to pass near the spot where the 
beer was to be buried, so when the right fatigue party was detailed to go for 
wood, they were told the secret of the hidden keg. 

By a little ingenious contriving the fatigue party managed to place the 
keg in the centre of a very large and fine load of wood, which was passed 
into Beaufort by the patrol guard, without arousing the least suspicion. 
Had there been any doubt in the mind of the patrol the load would have 
been arrested and searched, but no one suspected that the wagon contained 
both fire-wood and fire-water. If it had been found the fatigue party would 
have got into a great deal of trouble and perhaps serious punishment would 
have been inflicted, but in war soldiers get used to taking chances and they 
considered a keg of real beer, something they had not tasted for months, 
worth a risk. 

Once in the camp, the keg was tapped and all treated to as much as they 
could hold, making them feel so happy that everything seemed lovely. 



218 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

Some became correspondingly generous and sent a sample to the officers, in 
the shape of a large pitcher of foaming beer. Considering the manner in 
which the beer was smuggled into camp, the lack of discipline, the familiar- 
ity displayed by privates treating their commanders, the act was foolishly 
bold and the comrade who suggested it must have had his judgment 
warped by the beer that was working in him. 

Many became very funny that night, they laughed louder than usual, a 
few being especially boisterous, singing and shouting, until the Captain 
wanted to know the cause of so much cheerfulness. When he learned the 
cause, which he would never have found out had it not been for the treat 
sent to the officers, he commenced an investigation to discover how the beer 
got into the camp in violation of strict orders and in spite of the vigilance of 
the guard, who had strict orders to prohibit the landing of any intoxicants 
for the good of the service. 

The investigation only resulted in the finding of an empty keg, and for 
all anyone in the Battery knew about how it got there, it might have come 
in the rain from the clouds. There had been no order issued against 
empty kegs, so what law had been violated ? During the investigation the 
comrades were very quiet, they looked sober and serious, all fun and jolly, 
uproarious laughs were stopped suddenly, and every comrade behaved so 
well that no further investigation was made. Comrade Beecher, who tells 
the story, says that he never could drink beer, he never liked it, but he 
thoroughly enjoyed the fun of that night as much as any of those who helped 
to empty the cask. 

It was known that the officers had whiskey and other good things kept 
somewhere in camp, and a committee of comrades made it their business to 
find out, feeling that in love and war all things were fair. At last a big 
demijohn of whiskey was discovered in the attic of a house used by the 
officers for their quarters. That was just the knowledge required. When 
night came the officers were downstairs playing cards and thoroughly 
absorbed in the game, when a man was risking his liberty, and perhaps his 
life, by climbing up the back of the house, using the leader-pipes to aid him. 
He entered the attic and lowered the demijohn down to a comrade who was 
waitino". The canteens, of as many comrades as could be obtained, were 
filled and then the empty demijohn was sent up to the attic and replaced in 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861-1865 219 

the same position it had been found. There was considerable joy in the 
camp that night, but in the morning, when one of the officers wanted a 
"bracer," and sent his servant to get one from the reserve store, there were 
some very strong words used when it was found the demijohn was empty. 
The servant denied all knowledge of how the spirits had taken to itself wings 
and flown away, and the officers never knew who had been guilty. 

So anxious were a few to obtain whiskey that three of the comrades 
manufactured a private still. It was a very crude affair, but it was welcomed 
by those who helped to drink the spirit distilled from corn, which, alas! had 
been intended for the horses. The distilling was a very slow process, the 
spirit falling drop by drop with such precision that only the most patient 
would have persevered. But the men were so eager for the whiskey that 
they waited and took turns all night in catching the drops as they fell from 
the still. 

In November the Battery had another moving day. This time the camp 
was pitched nearer the town and stables were erected, sheds built for the 
Commissary Department and houses erected for the officers. The houses 
which had been built across the river were pulled down and rafted over and 
rebuilt at the camp. One house a mile down the river was hauled up to be 
used as a kitchen. The comrades were disappointed, they wanted to go 
back to their old quarters in the city but it was whispered that Gen. 
Brannan did not Hke Capt. Rockwell and would not oblige him. 

While there were many advantages in the new camp, being located 
close to a grove of very large and handsome live oak trees, there were just 
as many disadvantages. Mosquitoes, flies, fleas and gnats never ceased to 
trouble, but night and day tormented the unlucky comrades. 

"We drove the Confederates out of Beaufort, "^^said one of the comrades; 
" I almost wish we could have them back if we could get rid of the fleas. " 

On Monday, November 24, the General commanding gave orders for a 
sham fight between the Light Battery and the 7th Connecticut Infantry. 
It was a diversion for all, and both participants received the approval of the 
General for a well-contested action. 

The good people of Meriden did not forget the brave volunteers they 
had known and respected at Camp Tyler, and when the new winter camp 
was ready at Beaufort the Meriden people sent down a number of bedsteads 



220 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

and a supply of bedding- for the hospital. Guilford and Bridgeport also 
sent hospital supplies. Such acts caused the spirits of the comrades to 
become jubilant, for it proved that they were not forgotten by the citizens 
at home. 

The Battery had been in existence a little over a year and the comrades 
recalled the glorious times they had at Camp Tyler, and how the ladies had 
visited them and contributed to their comforts. Those days were brought 
back vividly to their minds by the attendance in church of several ladies, 
the wives and daughters of some of the officers stationed at Beaufort. It 
was such a treat to see a Northern woman that, as Comrade Hotchkiss 
writes, "our attentions were diverted from the prayers to the ladies," and 
that the good "deacon," as Hotchkiss was called, was equally guilty he 
acknowledged to his comrades. 

Comrades Arthur E. Clarke and Charles Hotchkiss were expert chess 
players, and many comrades would gather round the rude table and watch 
the two play, as earnestly as though their very lives were the stake. Clarke 
had whittled some chessmen out of green wood, and though they were very 
crude and would scarcely have been recognized by chess players in the 
cities, yet they answered all purposes and afforded considerable amusement 
on long winter evenings. 

Thanksgiving Day was kept in camp ; the day a year before had been 
spent at Camp Tyler; now the comrades gathered round the mess tables in 
camp at Beaufort ready to lay down their knives and forks and take up their 
guns at a moment's notice. In the diary kept by a comrade there is this 
entry for November 27, 1862, which gives an insight into camp life: 
" Thanksgiving Day. Had a fine supper. Bill of Fare: Roast pig, mashed 
potatoes and turnips, prepared gravy, rice pudding, oyster pie, etc., etc. 
The comrades also got a whiskey ration. Some of the fellows got a little 
excited. On the whole, the day passed off pleasantly. On such special 
occasions must always expect excitement and merriment to fit the surround- 
ings. After the feast it was said by some who complained they had not 
received their share of the food, and consequently were still hungry, that 
the right half of the reserves ate the pig, the left half ate the pudding; right 
section ate the oyster pie, left section ate the gravy ; centre section ate the 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 221 

potatoes and turnips and those who drank most of the whiskey did the 
fighting." 

In the afternoon many of the comrades enjoyed the sports gotten tip by 
the 6th Connecticut, which included.ball playing, pitching quoits and run- 
ning races. In the evening there was a " Mock Dress Parade," in which 
the comrades of the 6th Connecticut acted as general officers, being 
"dressed as oddly as possible, some with only underclothes on, others with 
pants and coats turned inside out and with knapsacks imder their coats." 

On Christmas Day there was a pleasant surprise for the comrades, for 
early in the morning Lieut. Seward paid a visit to the camp. How glad all 
were to see their old friend and fellow comrade! It was like a visit from 
home, for he had just returned from Connecticut and could give them news 
of friends and kindred. He brought news from Guilford, and the comrades 
who came from there were wild with excitement, but he had been to 
Meriden and Hartford, to Milford and New Haven, to Hebron and Bridge- 
port, and for what? Business? No, but just because his heart was big and 
he wanted the friends of the Battery boys to know all about them. No 
wonder the comrades gave him three cheers and a tiger. 

The artificers' tent was crowded that day, for they had invited a number 
of their friends to a dinner of roast pig and gravy, potatoes and butter, and 
every guest declared that it was the best dinner he had eaten since he left 
old Connecticut. Many of the comrades went to the sports given by the 
4th New Hampshire regiment, including a game of ball between the 
officers and some foot races. In the evening the commissioned officers of 
the 6th Connecticut gave a grand supper, to which some of the Battery 
were invited. 

The holidays made a pleasant break in the regular routine of camp life, 
and the comrades wished that there were more such days as Thanksgiving 
and Christmas. Fortunately New Year's Day followed in a week, and 
then the boys let themselves out once more. A Comrade writes in his 
diary; "New Year's Day finds me in spleadid health. No drilling. Oc- 
cnpied the day in sports, jumping, racing, sack-racing, foot-racing, wheel- 
barrow race, German Turner exercises, climbing greased pole, catching 
greased pig, auger-boring at a mark. The whole closed with a Mock Dress 



222 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

Parade." The Negro brigade was presented with a splendid flag. All the 
fanatics were present and made speeches." 

This little entry, written at the time, will call up memories of that glori- 
ous day when all the comrades felt almost as happy as they had ever done. 

The early part of the year 1863 was spent in incessant drilling, target 
practice, exercising in mounting and dismounting, imtil the Battery became 
as perfect as any in the service. It was said that a target six feet square 
could be struck in the centre at 1250 yards, and a shot thrown a mile with 
such accuracy that a second shot could be made to strike the same place. 

The General Order reducing the Light Batteries to four guns was never 
enforced. The order was either a politician's trick for party purposes or a 
piece of civilian intermeddling with military affairs. 

When Lieutenants Seward and Cannon left the Battery it was necessary 
to have more officers, and Capt. Rockwell being away on a furlough a chance 
was given for the transference of Lieutenant Asa Ellis from the 3d Rhode 
Island Artillery Regiment to the First Connecticut Battery. 

Lieutenant Ellis could not agree very well with his Captain in command 
of the Rhode Island Batter}', and having considerable influence he managed 
to induce Gen. Saxton to detail him to the Connecticut Battery at Beaufort. 

For a time all worked well. Lieut. Ellis was ranking officer of the 
Battery while Capt. Rockwell was away, and the other officers rather liked 
the arrangement until there was a rumor that the Battery was to be ordered 
to the front for active service ; then pride stepped in and the officers of the 
Connecticut Battery petitioned Gen. Saxton, setting forth that it would be 
unjust and unfair for a Connecticut Battery to be commanded by a Rhode 
Island Lieutenant. Gen. Saxton listened to the petitioners and detailed 
Lieut. Ellis to another command. 

While Lieut. Ellis was with the Battery the officers and men bore 
testimony to his efficiency, his thorough knowledge of artillery practice and 
his gentlemanly bearing. As a man all respected him, and his short service 
with the Battery was of benefit to both officers and men, and he carried 
away with him to his new command a good impression of the men from Old 
Connecticut. 

On St, Patrick's Day Capt. Rockwell entertained a large company of 
officers and ladies at Button Hill Plantation, some three miles out of 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 223 

Beaufort on the Shell Road, and Comrade Hotchkiss writes an interesting- 
account of it in his diary: " Most of the officers were mounted," he writes, 
" but one team of five pairs of Battery horses and another of three pairs were 
brought into use for the ladies and others. The Captain selected eight of oiir 
drivers, each to one pair of the handsomest black horses, two mounted aids, 
and Sergt. Mervvin in command of the whole. With our wagons all fixed up 
it made a turnout fit for the Queen of England. The Battery harnesses 
were used and each driver rode his nigh horse in Battery style. They went 
through the town and collected the ladies, and the conting-ent left at 3 
o'clock. Gen. Saxton and his bride went out mounted. From all accounts 
they had a jolly time. Our Battery boys, of course, could not mingle with 
the ' shoulder straps, ' but the Captain gave us permission to carry our 
pistols, and we passed our time at target practice. On the way back the 
ladies made the woods ring with songs, and our boys had enough to talk 
about for days thereafter. It made me homesick as they passed here near 
midnight singing ' Star of the Evening.'" 

A number of the men organized nightly prayer meetings, and Comrade 
Hotchkiss was a familiar figure as he stood, with his tuning fork in hand, 
leading the singing. From those prayer meetings a regular Christian 
organization sprang into existence, a record of which will be found in another 
chapter. 

At this time the camp presented a neat and pretty appearance, the "A" 
tents were arranged in three streets, one for each section, eight tents on a 
side, sixteen tents to each street. But just as everything seemed settled 
and the comrades were reconciled to tent life the order came to strike tents 
and get ready for marching. 

On April 5, 1863, the Battery left Beaufort at 6 in the evening on a 
large ferryboat called the John Adams, amid the cheers of the comrades 
who watched them depart. The horses and their drivers remained at 
Beaufort. The John Adams anchored at Hilton Head among numerous 
transports of all kinds. Hamilton's Battery, also without horses, was 
crowded on the already overloaded ferryboat, but room had to be made, 
and at 10 a. m. on the Sunday the boat set its nose towards Stono Inlet. 
The John Adams ran into Edisto for the night, and reached Stono Inlet 
with forty or fifty other vessels all loaded with troops. 



224 HISTORY AND REAIINISCENCES 

Capt. Rockwell says: "The John Adams was the only available 
transport from the deck of which the gim carriages could be rapidly landed, 
and while safe enough for river and quiet water service she was signally 
unsafe for the sea passage from Hilton Head to the Stono Inlet. There was 
quite a rough sea outside, but the expedition had started and there was 
no help for it. The risk of disaster was, however, so great, that a steamer 
was sent to escort us and pick up the survivors. The John Adams had 
previously been used on some river expedition and the hull beneath the 
overhanging deck had been loop-holed for infantry. These holes were 
not properly or permanently stopped, but were covered, each by a board 
held in place by a brace against the deck beams. The danger was obvious. 

The sea, on our return from Stono Inlet to Hilton Head, was fortunately 
quiet." • 

After staying at anchor for five days the expedition was given up and 
the whole fleet started for Port Royal, reaching Beaufort early on Sunday 
morning. 

All sorts of rumors were afloat about the expedition, some quoting the 

old quatrain: 

"The brave Duke of York, 

He had ten thousand men, 

He marched them up a hill, 

Then marched them down again." 
To the men on the transports it seemed to be an expedition of that 
kind, for they went out, waited, and then returned without any of the 
comrades knowing the why and wherefore. Some hinted that there had 
been friction and unpleasantness between Gen, Hunter and Admiral 
Du Pont, but though that rumor was generally believed, the records prove 
that the two officers were on the best of terms. 

The expedition had been designed to make an attack on Fort Sumter, 
and then having reduced that strong fortress, to make a combined land and 
naval attack on Charleston, but Admiral Du Pont, writing to Gen. Hunter 
on April 8, says: " I attempted to take the bull by the horns, but he was too 
much for us. These monitors are miserable failures where forts are con- 
cerned ; the longest was an hour and the others forty-five minutes under fire, 
and five of the eight were wholly or partially disabled," In replying. Gen. 
Hunter wrote: " No country can ever fail that has men capable of facing 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 225 

what your iron-clads had yesterday to endure. God bless and keep you safe, 
Admiral." 

Gen. Rufus Saxton was very strict. He believed that a soldier should 
be a perfect part of a perfect machine. He held the idea very strongly that 
just as a chain should be tested by its weakest link so an army should be 
judged by its poorest soldiers. Having this before him he set to work 
to make the hitherto poorest men equal in efficiency to the best, so 
that his command might be absolutely perfect. It was not to be expected 
that there would be no grumbling — the well-drilled comrade often had to turn 
out to drill because some one in his company was not as perfect. One 
comrade wrote at the time: " The powers that be are bound that we shall 
not have any more spare time than is absolutely necessary. Everybody 
musk 'toe the mark.' Our new General is ver}' strict. Woe to the driver, 
cannoneer, artificer, cook, corporal or sergeant who does not keep in good 
condition and perform all duties right up square. One Sergeant was placed 
under arrest simply because a gun-primer was found in the bottom of a 
lumber chest. A man was punished for not having his coat buttoned at 
retreat. Talk about West Point discipline! A good fight with the rebs, I 
think, would take the starch out of some in authority." But that same 
comrade, after a few weeks of the harsh discipline, as he thought it, acknowl- 
edged that it had made all the comrades better soldiers, and he wrote exult- 
ingly : " There is no doubt that if the enemy made a charge on this Battery, 
if in position, it would get ' Hail, Columbia,' before it could capture it. The 
Confederates say that they can stand the Northern Infantry, but 'damn that 
Connecticut Battery.'" 

During the early months of 1863 there were many changes in the 
personnel of the officers. 

First Lieut. Seldon Porter resigned his commission on the last day of 
January, and on February 3d, Sergt. James B. Clinton was promoted 
to the rank of Second Lieutenant, and one month later to the position of 
First Lieutenant. Lieut. Clinton was very popular with the Battery, and 
while each man thought he was just as capable of filling the onerous position 
not one was jealous but gave his hearty support to the Lieutenant. Second 
Lieut. Metcalf was promoted to a First Lieutenancy on February 10. Com- 
rade George P. Bliss, who had been mustered in Quartermaster Sergeant, 



226 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

was promoted to the rank of First Sergeant on February 3, 1863, and to that 
of Second Lieutenant on May 25. Sergt. Hezekiah B. Smith, who had served 
three months in Rifle Company C, 2d Connecticut Infantry, before he 
enHsted in the Light Battery, was promoted Quartermaster Sergeant, 
February 15, 1863, and again promoted to Second Lieutenancy June 12. 
Sergt. Sylvanus C. Dickinson, who had been mustered Sergeant, was 
promoted on May 25 to rank of First Sergeant. On the same day Corporals 
Arthur E. Clark, Alexander Welton, Hethcote G. Landon, and Edward F. 
Phelps were promoted to rank of Sergeants; Corp. John H. Mervvin had 
been promoted to the rank on February 15. Henry Grow was appointed 
Quartermaster Sergeant. Privates Herbert W. Beecher, Amassa L. 
Doolittle, James Holley, Henry S. Lawrence and Jonathan G. Norton 
were promoted corporals on the 25th of May. 

On March the 5th the Battery presented to Lieut. James B. Clinton a 
sabre, sash, belt and shoulder straps as a small token of their esteem and as a 
recognition of his worth. 

The left section of the Battery was sent on picket duty to the brick- 
yard to cover the sunken steamer George Washington, Very lively times 
were expected, for on the steamer were some guns which the enemy coveted 
and which the Unionists were equally determined should not fall into 
his hands. 

On April 8, 1863, the steamers E. B. Hale and George Washington 
started to go around Port Royal Island on a reconnoissance, conducted by 
Capt. Briggs, 3d Rhode Island Artillery. Before reaching the ferry the Hale 
got aground. At night she got off, and about 4.30 a. m. of the 9th started, 
without the knowledge of the officers of the Washington. The latter started 
about 5 or 5.30 a. m. to follow her, and had proceeded a mile or two when a 
turn in the channel revealed a Confederate light battery directly astern, 
perhaps a mile distant, which instantly opened fire. The Washington had 
only a howitzer astern, and could not turn to reply. The second shot 
exploded the magazine, which was in the afterpart of the vessel, unshipped 
the rudder, broke the steering gear, ripping up the deck, tumbling the 
howitzer into the hold, and destroying all the ammunition for the James 
rifle forward. The vessel took fire and began to fill rapidly. The master 
backed her toward the marsh on the Union side. Capt. Briggs ordered a 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 229 

white flag- raised against the protests of the master, Campbell, who continued 
attempt to escape. They put the wounded on the marsh and all scrambled 
off. The Confederates, seeing this, resumed their fire, of course, and with 
great accuracy. The wounded lying on the bank were captured by a boat 
party of Confederates. There were two killed instantly, two seriously, 
probably fatally, wounded, eight slightly, and two missing. Some of the 
men were hours scrambling through the marsh. 

Upon the night of the loth the Confederates sent two pieces of heavy 
artillery and nine of light, supported by three companies of infantry and 
three of cavalry to Chisholm Island with boats for the purpose of raising 
the guns of the burned steamer. It was found that the Unionists had raised 
one gun, a 24-pounder howitzer, and the enemy succeeded in raising and 
getting another gim of the same size to shore. The Unionists, however, 
determined that no more guns should fall into the hands of the enemy, and 
so a vigorous fire was opened on the Confederates, making it exceedingly 
dangerous to continue the work. 

The wrecked steamer was lying in the middle of the river, the enemy 
had a battery planted opposite to prevent the Unionists getting the guns, 
while the Connecticut Battery was directly in line on the other side to keep 
the guns from falling into the hands of the enemy. The report came from 
the scouts that the enemy was throwing up earthworks, and at once the 
Battery opened on them, but the distance was so great that it was only by a 
high elevation of the gun that a shell could be sent across. It was then 
feared that the enemy had bigger guns than the Battery possessed, but the 
fear was groundless. 

The comrades regretted that their stay would only be ten days, for the 
camp was a pleasant one, being situated in a grove of live oaks whose 
spreading branches gave plenty of shade. The river was also delightful, 
and some of the athletes fixed up a spring-board over the water and 
indulged in some excellent diving, tumbling and other aquatic sports. The 
comrades were like a lot of children, so thoroughly did they enjoy the 
luxuries of that camp. Blackberries were so plentiful that some ate as many 
as four quarts a day, producing a reaction which made even the sight of the 
berries nauseating. 

On the Sunday some of the comrades obtained permission to attend a 



230 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

colored prayer meeting in the woods about two miles from the camp 
Comrade Hotchkiss has left behind him his impressions of that service. 
He says: 

"The day was hot. The little church was in a clearing, it was a neat 
frame building, the woods all around it. The people came from all quarters, 
dressed neatly and tidily; women with white handkerchiefs on their heads, 
both old and young. Deacon Long took charge and another good old darky 
made some appropriate remarks, but I could not keep a sober face, for his 
talk was so peculiar though earnest. His ideas would often get ahead of 
his speech. He addressed himself, at times, to us soldiers, calling us 
Gideonites. 'What for day com'd here, but to uphold de right? ' he asked. 
'Day no com'd here to grind us down, as our old massa did. Day com'd to 
fight for liberty, to sabe dis land from de spoiler. Some leabe fader an' 
mudder an' sistern an' brudder and come to fight for God an' liberty. Some 
to take our old massa's place, an' lookout for de farms an' plantations, God 
bress 'em.' The prayers were earnest and sincere and all joined with a 
will in the singing. After the meeting was over they struck up the song, 
'Marching Along,' to appropriate words in a slow, chanting style. Some 
moved up to where Comrade Gillette and I stood. One old darky bowed to 
me and put out his hand as if he asked me to shake it. I took it, and we 
had a hearty shake, and then another and another, until I thought it time to 
retreat, but the women had got around the door and we had to run the 
gauntlet to get outside. All that time the song went on. We went back to 
camp greatly interested in the poor slaves of the South, yet they seem to be 
happy. They live on the old farms as usual and get a living in some way." 

Several expeditions were sent from Beaufort to the main land to try to 
induce the negroes to cross over and enlist in the service of Uncle Sara. 
The old East Boston ferryboat, John Adams, and the steamer H. A. Ward 
brought over, early in June, about eight hundred contrabands, men, women 
and children. They looked a hard crowd and as one comrade remarked 
"dry goods must have been scarce where they came from." These contra- 
bands were sent on the plantations, except about two hundred of the men, 
who enhsted in the ist South CaroHna Colored Regiment. 

Many slaves came into the city from the mainland and had to be 
supported by the Government. They were fast becoming a burden and a 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 231 

nuisance. They were asked to volunteer to work on the fortifications 
at Hilton Head and other places. A few did volunteer, but the majority- 
preferred to stay in Beaufort, feeding on Government rations and what they 
could get from the soldiers, to working at anything steadily. Some 
of the strongest-looking men were taken and forced to work. A rumor that 
they were all going to be ordered to Hilton Head and drafted into the 
Yankee service either as soldiers or as workmen on the fortifications caused 
them to flee to the woods and swamps, where they would stay during 
the day, sneaking back to the city at night. The authorities resolved to put a 
stop to this, and so a plan to catch them was devised. One night after 
12 o'clock, when it was supposed that all the darkies had left the woods and 
swamps and entered the city, Beaufort was surrounded and a raid made for 
darkies by a detail of soldiers carrying lanterns and torches. It was a 
regular nigger hunt. The darkies were found hiding in cisterns, cellars, 
under barns and houses, in lofts and pigpens and stables, under boards, up 
trees, under small upturned boats, and in every conceivable hiding place. All 
were dragged out, large and small, old and young, and as fast as caught were 
locked up in the Beaufort Arsenal. Next morning all the able-bodied men 
were sent to the dock, followed by wives and sweethearts, who were 
crying and moaning as they bade them good-bye in the most tragic 
and pathetic manner, refusing to be comforted. When told that the men 
were going to Hilton Head, the women clung to their husbands and lovers 
so persistently, crying and begging to be saved from separation, that force 
had to be used and the women were torn away from the men. When 
at Hilton Head the men were made to work on the fortifications and those 
fit for soldiers were drafted into the ist South Carolina Colored Regiment. 

Camp life was pleasant in many ways, but at night the fleas were so 
troublesome that sleep was almost an impossibility. Fleas were everywhere. 
The air scintillated with their blackness. The comrades roared with anger and 
pain, while some, whose vocabulary was larger, used such loud curses that 
the air was blue. Fleas, fleas, fleas, that was the cry everywhere. Those 
who drank whiskey tried, when they could get it, to drink themselves 
into insensibility to the bite of the little pests; those who were temperance 
men tried other things. One comrade says: "I have in desperation made 
a bag just long enough to get into, feet first, sewed up the seams double 



232 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

tight, and when I turn in at night I can get the bulge on the fleas, just as 
long as I can keep the bag gathered tight round the neck, but when I fall 
asleep and the bag slacks up round the neck the fleas rush in and then — no 
more sleep. But I am going to lace the bag up at the neck, and either get 
choked or give it up." 

Comrade Charles Hotchkiss gives a picture of camp life at Beaufort in 
a letter to his sister, under date May 30, 1863, in which he pays a tribute to 
the intelligence of the horses and also confesses to his own indulgence in 
blackberries. He writes: 

"I have had to quit eating blackberries, my stomach has refused to 
receive any more; it is utterly demoralized on blackberries, so I shall have 
to refuse them for a few days. 

"I was hunting for a spring on the shore, abreast of camp yesterday, at 
low tide, when I came across a tremendous eel. After some trouble I 
managed to get him out of the mud and secure him. He weighed about 2^ 
pounds; niggers call it a silver eel. You had better believe it was good. 
And to-day several of the men have gone after some, but I guess they will 
find them scarce. 

"You say you would not like to stay down here very long; well, I 
think you could enjoy yourself very much. There are several young ladies 
here now; Rev. Dr. Peck has two daughters here, and frequently we see 
some of them out riding horseback. This is a great place for horses, owing 
to so much artillery and cavalry here. 

"Our boys have the privilege of exercising horses after retreat now, 
and from 50 to 100 of our horses are out every evening; all must be back 
before dark. 

" Our horses are in splendid condition; get oats or corn three times per 
day and plenty of hay ; we use about six tons of hay per week and about 30 
bushels of oats daily. 

" Morning and evening at stable call they are led out by their drivers, 
watered, curried, brushed and rubbed down for 40 minutes; then led in and 
fed. They have very little to do, except the team horses, and are as sleek, 
glossy, fat and clean as any nabob's team of carriage horses. 

"They know the bugle calls, and when stable call blows they know and 
show very plainly they are ready for their cleaning and feed. And while 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861-1865 233 

on drill an order is given they almost know just what it is and at the word 
' March ' will jump with a will. They are used to firing- and don't mind it 
at all; they will ride right up to a cannon without flinching. 

" They all know what the word ' Fire ' means, and whether we fire or 
not will throw up their heads a little, although they don't move otherwise." 

Another incident is often recalled by the comrades concerning life in 
Beaufort. In some of the larger houses there were cisterns built in the 
basement and cellars to catch and store rain water. These cisterns were 
about ten or twelve feet deep, built oval or round shape with a diameter of 
fifteen or twenty feet. The ordinary well water in Beaufort was hard, so 
rain water was relied on for washing clothes and bathing purposes by the 
well-to-do citizens. Soldiers, ever on the alert for something good to eat or 
drink, never allowed a corner escape their vigilant eyes, so the cisterns, 
capped and half full of water and therefore most unlikely hiding places for 
food, were thought of and placed on the list of possibilities and an investiga- 
tion was commenced. Cisterns were opened, ladders put down and the 
soldiers crawled into the cisterns and commenced fishing around after 
anything that they might find. In the bottom mud had gathered in 
some cases two feet deep, washed from the dusty roofs. Into this 
mud the comrades pushed their arms and worked about with their feet 
and with sticks. Their vigilance was rewarded, not by the finding of any 
food, but buried in the mud at the bottom of some of the cisterns were some 
of the choicest wines ever manufactured. Dozens of bottles of the finest 
claret and white wine were fished out and brought to the surface. The 
good news spread quickly and a rush was made for cisterns equal to the 
excitement produced by the discovery of new gold fields. 

Comrade Fairfield Cook, of Guilford, died in camp very suddenly on 
June 19, 1863, and was buried with military honors on the next evening at 
5 o'clock. His body was inclosed in a neat casket and placed on a caisson 
covered with the Stars and Stripes and escorted to the grave by the First 
Regiment Band, eight bearers and a corporal in command, a centre section 
gun and followed by Capt. Rockwell and Lieut. Clinton mountc d. 

After the funeral a few of the comrades met and organized a Burial 
Association, having for its object the purchasing of a metalhc coffin and the 



234 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

transportation of the body of any comrade who should die in camp to his 
former home. 

As the month of June neared its end the comrades talked much about 
the coming Independence Day and felt that it ought to be celebrated in 
good style. It was conceded that if it was so celebrated the funds would 
have to be provided by the men themselves, so each section set to work to 
see how much could be raised for a section dinner. One section subscribed 
forty dollars and the other sections were not far short of that amount. Each 
section was to manage its own celebration, and so there could be a diversity 
of menus and each could provide as it liked. A committee was formed in 
each section to arrange the menu and purchase the food, engage cooks and 
erect tables. The members of the committees obtained leave to go out into 
the country in search of chickens, eggs and other good things, and the widest 
latitude was permitted. 

On the morning of the Fourth the comrades attended the exercises 
arranged by the 5 2d Pennsylvania Regiment. After a prayer from the Rev. 
Mr. Geist, a major read the Declaration of Independence and Col. Dodge 
made a short address as president of the assemblage. A very eloquent 
oration was delivered by Col. Higginson, in which he raised the enthusiasm 
of the soldiers by his patriotic eulogy of the Flag, the Nation, and his 
passionate declaration that "the Nation founded by Washington must be 
preserved even though it necessitated the shedding of rivers of blood." 
After the exercises were over various sports were indulged in, such as sack 
racing, foot racing, jumping and other athletic games. Prizes were given 
by the regiment, and Comrade Patrick Shields, of Meriden, carried two 
trophies back, to the Battery which he had won in the sports. 

At 3 o'clock dinner was served and an excellent bill of fare pro- 
vided by each company. Capt. Rockwell visited each table and proposed 
a toast in honor of each section. Three cheers were given for the President 
of the United States, for Governor Buckingham of Connecticut, for the 
First Light Battery, and for the gallant Captain who was endearing himself 
to the comrades more every day. Comrade Mark Hall was the special 
cook of the left section for the Independence Day dinner, and he intended 
that his dinner should excel all others. Among the good things he 
provided was a ver}' large chicken pie that should bring to the minds 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 



235 



of the comrades pleasant remembrances of home. He made the pie 
and kept the knowledge of it to himself and a few chosen comrades. When 
the Captain visited the left section the pie was placed in front of him, 
and Comrade INIark Hall, with a great deal of pride, commenced to carve the 
pie. One after another the comrades dropped their knives and forks and 
declared they had no appetite for chicken pie. Poor Comrade Hall looked 
distressed. He soon found out that the cause of the failure of the pie was 
that he had neglected to cut a hole in the crust, so when the pie cooled 
the contents turned sour. Who will ever forget Comrade Hall's counte- 
nance on that occasion? Do any remember what he said? His intentions 
had been good, but a slight forgetfulness had spoiled everything. 

Before the dinner was over the rumor reached the Battery that the 
order to break camp would most likely be given that night and on the 
morrow the comrades might be on their way to Virginia. 



TO. 







A HASTY SUPPER ON PICKET. 



CHAPTER XL 



THE PON PON RIVER EXPEDITION. 



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VERY important expedition was being discussed, and 
from the constant interviews between Capt. Rockwell 
and Col. William W. H. Davis, commanding the 
Post at Beaufort, it was evident that the First Light 
Battery would be called upon to join in the contem- 
plated movement. 

Capt. Rockwell called the non-commissioned offi- 
cers together and asked for volunteers to take charge of a squad of negro 
soldiers which were to be sent on a secret expedition. Corp. John F. Bliss 
at once volunteered, and, being one of the best gunners in the Battery, was 
accepted and put in command of a company of colored soldiers selected from 
Col. Higginson's ist South Carolina Regiment, stationed on the steamer 
Enoch Dean, which was armed with two rifled Parrot guns, one at the bow, 
the other at the stern. Corp. Bliss went on board and reported to Col. 
Higginson. He still wore his Corporal stripes when he took command of 
the darky squad, but Col. Higginson brought him a blouse with a lieuten- 
ant's shoulder straps on and told him to wear it. When Corp. Bliss put 
on the blouse the Colonel said : 

* ' Now they will think you are a Lieutenant. As a Corporal they might 
not fear or respect you, but now you are all right." 

Comrade Bliss drilled the negroes until they loaded and fired the gun 
fairly well. 

The right section of the Battery, Lieut. Clinton in command, was 
ordered on board the steam tug Governor Milton, which had been captured 
in Florida at the time of the St. John's Bluff expedition. 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 237 

While the steamers were waiting at the dock for orders to sail, "Sod" 
Blatchley touched Comrade William Fowler on the arm and suggested that 
as they were going on an expedition, the duration of which none could tell, 
it would be well if they purchased some extra provisions, 

" You know my reputation, Bill, is such that they will not give me per- 
mission," said Blatchley, "but if you apply for a permit you can get it, and 
the Captain will let me go with you." 

Comrade Fowler explained to Lieut. Clinton, the officer in command, 
what " Sod " wanted, at the same time advising the officer not to grant the 
request. Lieut. Clinton feeling kindly toward the big-hearted "Sod," who 
had but one fault, told Fowler to go with him, but to be sure to watch the 
steamers and when he saw a company of infantry go aboard they must 
return at once to the steamer. Armed with the permit the two comrades 
went to the stores, which were situated on a street along the water front. 
"Sod" did the buying while comrade Fowler watched the steamer and 
looked for the infantry, which, according to the officer in command, were to 
go aboard before the steamer would start. While Comrade Fowler was 
watching the Governor Milton started, but as no infantry had been seen to 
go aboard, the comrade thought the steamer would stop at a dock farther 
up the river, known as the upper dock. Fowler called to "Sod," who was 
inside a store buying food. The two comrades started on a run for the 
upper dock, but to their surprise the steamer did not stop. "Sod" and 
Fowler followed the steamer along the shore, around a point of land as far 
as a place known as Pigeon Point, about one mile and a half from the 
dock from which the Governor Milton started. They shouted, swung their 
hats and made every conceivable sign to attract attention of the captain of 
the steamer, hoping that he would stop and send off a small boat for them, 
but no attention was paid to their efforts, and, sadly disappointed, the two 
comrades saw the steamer go out of sight. Humiliated and crestfallen they 
returned to camp and reported to Capt. Rockwell. He told them to report 
for duty, that he thought everything would be all right. This made them 
feel easier in their minds, though even then Comrade Fowler felt angry at 
himself for allowing his good nature to get the better of his judgment in 
being " Sod's " mouthpiece and asking for a permit to go ashore. When the 



238 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

expedition returned the two comrades were arrested for desertion and kept 
in the guard-house. 

When an expedition was about starting for Stono Inlet, Comrade 
Fowler wrote a note direct to Captain Rockwell asking permission for 
himself and Blatchley to go with the Battery. It is a breach of discipline 
for a private to write a letter to the commanding officer, and generally 
involves punishment, but Captain Rockwell being both a good disciplinarian 
and humane man answered the letter and granted the request, at the same 
time calling Comrade Fowler's attention to the fact that it was an unusual 
and irregular proceeding for a commanding officer to entertain a request 
from a private direct, but as Comrade Fowler's conduct had always been so 
exceptionally good, he granted the request. This was a very welcome 
reward for good conduct. The comrades were released and reported for 
duty, going with the expedition. Nothing further was done about the 
order of arrest for desertion. 

Comrade Fowler has always wondered by whose order he was arrested 
on that occasion. About twenty years afterwards he met both commanders 
together at his store on Broadway, New York, and in a friendly way said 
that he had always been curious to know by whose order he had been 
arrested. Neither could remember the incident, and Comrade Fowler is 
still in ignorance about the strange occurence. A very remarkable thing 
which happened on the Governor Milton impressed the matter more strongly 
on the mind of the comrade. A soldier who stood on the deck at the post 
Comrade Fowler would have occupied had he not missed the boat, was shot, 
his life-blood spurting over Fowler's knapsack and blanket which lay at his 
feet on the deck just where Fowler had left them when he went ashore with 
"Sod." 

The expedition was under the command of Col. Higginson of the ist 
South Carolina Colored Infantry, who originated it with a two-fold purpose, 
one to destroy the railroad between Charleston and Savannah to prevent 
reinforcements being sent to the former city, and the other to gather in a 
number of colored men as recruits. 

Col. Higginson, in his official report, says the expedition was sanctioned 
by Brig. -Gen. Rufus Saxton and Gen. Gillmore. The expedition left Beau- 
fort on the afternoon of the 9th of July, 1863, with the armed double- end 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 



239 



ferryboat John Adams, the transport Enoch Dean, and the small steamer 
Governor Milton. The force consisted of two hundred and fifty of the South 
Carolina Regiment and the right section of the First Connecticut Battery, 
under command of Lieutenant Clinton. 

The three steamers were convoyed through the Sound by the gunboat 
Kingfisher as far as Willtown Bluff, from which place the Confederates 
fired on the expedition as soon as it was first sighted, but the gunboat 
quickly silenced the land battery. 

"By 4 o'clock the next morning," says Colonel Higginson in his re- 
port, " we anchored before Willtown, twenty miles up the river, and en- 
gaged a three-gun field battery there stationed. After three shots they 
ceased firing, and, landing with Lieutenant James B. West and thirty men, 

I took possession of the bluff', where the clothing, 
equipments, and breakfast fires left behind betray- 
ed a very hasty departure. This bluff' affords the 
key to the river, and we held it all day, until sun- 
set, though with constant skirmishing between 
my pickets and those of the enemy." 

Comrades Huntington and John Merwin went 
ashore in an old dug-out and were rewarded by 
finding a chaplain's tent wide open and deserted. 
" We lifted an artillery bucket full of ripe toma- 
toes; Plutarch's Lives; a pair of spurs and a gui- 
tar," says Comrade Himtington, "all of which 
are still in my family except the tomatoes which 
disappeared in the twinkling of an eye. " 

Lieutenant Thomas. G. White, commanding 
the Palmetto Battalion, S. C. Light Artillery, 
Confederate Army, thus describes the first skirm- 
ish and abandonment of the position referred to by Col. Higginson : 

" I have the honor to state that on the morning of Thursday, July loth 
instant, I was aroused at daylight by the sergeant of my section of Schulz's 
battery, stationed at Willtown Bluff" with the information that the enemy's 
boats had approached, under cover of a dense fog overhanging the river, to 
the obstructions, distant about 8oo yards from my position. I immediately 




JOHN H MERWIN, 
of Milford. 
Enlisted Oct. 20, :86i; mustered 
in Corporal Nov 2, 1861; Promo- 
ted Sergeant Feb. 15, 186^. Dis- 
charged Nov. 2, 1864; time ex- 
pired. 



240 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

harnessed up my horses and prepared one of my guns, the nearest to the 
enemy, for action. At 4.45 o'clock I fired the first gun at the smallest 
of the enemy's steamers nearest land, situated then up to the obstructions, 
and apparently on and over them. A column of the enemy number- 
ing about 150, composed of negroes and white men, was seen advancing up 
the causeway by file at long intervals, and was then within 300 yards of 
the side road leading to the rear of my position. At this stage a friction-primer 
became impacted in the vent of the piece, rendering it unfit for immediate ser- 
vice; the enemy in the meantime kept up an incessant firing of shot, shell and 
grape. I ordered this gun to withdraw out of range, and repaired to the other, 
to my right and in battery, and found that a ball had been forced into it with- 
out a cartridge. Under these circumstances, and having no support of in- 
fantry or cavalry, excepting seven vedettes, I thought it prudent to with- 
draw the section beyond the risk of the flankers." 

Lieutenant White admits that he had great difficulty in escaping capture, 
having remained behind to watch the operations of the Unionists. 

Colonel Higginson found, as he had expected, a row of piles across the 
river at Willtown, and a prisoner captured on the bluff told him that the 
river was full of torpedoes. None, however, appeared and the able 
engineering of Captain Charles T. Trowbridge in three hours effected a 
passage for the two smallest vessels. 

At first the John Adams attempted to pull up the piles by means of a 
hawser and capstan, but that failed, and then at the suggestion of Captain 
Trowbridge a circular saw was rigged up below the steamer's keel and 
worked from the end of the John Adams by pulleys and ropes, thus sawing 
off the piles low enough to allow the light draught steamers to pass over 
them at high tide. The work was necessarily slow but successful. 

Captain Trowbridge knew the river thoroughly. He, indeed, had 
planned the expedition, for it was based on his report, he having spent 
many days in that section as a spy. In that capacity Captain Trowbridge 
worked his way up the river at night in a small boat, hiding in the daytime in 
the bushes and marshes, making landings, soundings, and drawing complete 
plans of the surrounding country and channels, obstructions, etc., during 
the dark nights. 

His adventures were of the most marvelous nature and oft-times he 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 241 

was in great danger of capture. He well knew that capture meant an 
ignominious death by being hanged as a spy, but he took the risk and came 
oflE triumphant. There may be something repugnant to the mind in the 
word "spy," but those who undertake the duty are the very bravest and 
often the most patriotic of men. To be successful it requires the coolest 
courage, the clearest head and the quickest wit of any military duty. He 
recognizes no distinctions of rank, but must penetrate even into the presence 
of the commanding general; he passes the enemy's lines, sits at the camp 
fire, talks with the privates and is "hail fellow well met" with the officers; 
he must be a gentleman in education and refinement, and yet must play 
the part of the innocent peasant, the greenhorn, the tender-foot; he must 
be German, or Irish, Georgian or Kentuckian ; he must be able to speak in 
the dialect of the district as fluently as he can converse with the educated 
man in English. If he falls, no friendly heart can ever tell where; his 
gravels nameless; his memory, if he dies by the hangman's rope, one of 
ignominy and detestation, and yet victory could never come in a well- 
planned war were it not for the work of the spies. Among the bravest and 
best it is no reflection on the others to mention Captain Trowbridge, 

The small steamer Governor Milton drew only eighteen inches of water 
when empty and not more than three feet when fully loaded, and was, 
therefore, well adapted for navigating such a river as the Pon Pon. She 
had one gun at the bow and another at the stern, giving her the appearance 
of a small gunboat. To support the battery Major Strong was ordered on 
board the Governor Milton with one company of the ist South Carolina 
Colored Regiment. No one knew the destination of the expedition until 
Capt. Trowbridge directed the Milton and Dean to proceed up the Pon 
Pon River. 

The Enoch Dean was the first boat up the river. After passing the 
piling at high water, they sailed slowly up the winding river, firing at every 
building in sight, or wherever there were any signs of life. 

It seemed as though no opposition was to be offered, for a distance of 
two miles was traversed without further interruption. It may be that the 
rice fields on each side were indefensible or that the Confederates knew that 
when the tide went out the Enoch Dean would run aground and stick fast 
in the mud, when it would be comparatively easy to capture her. 



242 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

The tide fell rapidly, and without warning the Enoch Dean did stick 
fast in the mud, all efforts to get her off being fruitless. 

The Governor Milton, seeing the Enoch Dean aground, ran ahead and 
passed up the river without drawing the enemy's fire, until swinging around 
a sharp bend in the river a masked battery fired into the Milton, raking her 
fore and aft, A shell burst in front of the engineer, killing him instantly 
by driving a piece of iron through his body, and slightly disabling S'>me 
portion of the machinery controlling the steam. It knocked a piece off the 
port cylinder head and crashed through the deck. The battery returned the 
fire, aiming at the place whence the smoke came, as the guns could not be 
seen. Comrade William D. Shepard, who had been an engineer on the 
New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad prior to enlisting, performed 
a deed of heroism which ought to be ever remembered by the people of his 
State and Nation. When the engineer was killed. Comrade Shepard took 
his place and managed to work the valve which controlled the steam, 
reversing the engine and backing the Milton down the stream. The work 
was one of the greatest difficulty and the comrade felt the flesh burning 
from his hands and dropping to the floor of the engine room, still he never 
wavered, but, like a true hero, thought more of his comrades than he did of 
his own life. 

Lieut. Clinton, I'ecalling that expedition, said: "The forward or bow 
gun was engaged all the time we were iinder fire from the masked battery 
of the enemy. The range was close. Comrade Merwin, I believe, worked 
this gun. The limber chest was on the deck and very near the gun and there 
was great danger of its explosion from the fire of our gun. I stood by the 
limber, opening and closing it as quickly as possible. I cannot recall how 
many rounds were fired, but a great many. It was a hot time for the boys, 
I assure you, and each and every one of them stood unfiinchingly, and 
providentially, no casualties to our men occurred." 

The Milton backed dowm the stream to a wider part, where she was able 
to turn round and reach the place where the Enoch Dean was still aground. 
When the Milton swung round the stern gun commenced firing, keeping it 
irp until the Milton was out of the range of the enemy. 

As the Milton passed down the crooked river the enemy followed and 
continued to fire until the Milton's stern gun dismounted one of his pieces, 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 



243 



killing some of his men. Bnt the Milton gun was rendered powerless by 
the giving way of the deck from the recoil of the gun. 

In the meantime the enemy was paying his respects to the Enoch Dean, 
which was still aground. The Confederates began to fire on her at a range 
of less than two hundred yards, from a six-gun field battery. Shot and 
shell poured over and round her, striking her fifteen or sixteen times, mak- 
ing the splinters fly in every direction. Fortunately no shots struck below 
the water line or hit any of the machinery. An anchor was then thrown 
out, and by means of the capstan the boat was hauled backwards off the mud 
bank and slowly backed down the stream, her deck being knocked into 
splinters by the Confederate guns. 

Corporal Bliss kept his guns at work replying 
to the enemy's fire. Being the only officer on 
the boat who knew how to sight and handle ar- 
tillery he was kept running from bow to stern 
of the Enoch Dean, sighting the guns and giving 
orders to fire as fast as they could be loaded. In 
this manner Comrade Bliss fired between forty and 
fifty shots, which kept the enemy from rushing too 
boldly into the range of his guns. 

The men who had landed early in the morning 
had gone to the Morris Rice Mills, which they set 
on fire, the negroes taking everything of value 
from the house, even carrying away bedding, fur- 
niture and musical instruments. One of the com- 
rades of the Light Battery often played sweet 
music on a guitar which had formerly belonged to Mr. Morris. 

The river channel was narrow, but on either side was a rice swamp which 
gave it the appearance of being quite wide and easily navigated at high 
tide. When the Dean passed up the river the darky slaves, mostly women 
and children, approached the landings with their bedding, clothes and 
household articles on their heads, pleading to be taken on board. Colonel 
Higginson listened to their prayers and consented. When the Confederates 
opened fire on the steamer the negroes were terribly frightened, running 
from bow to stern of the boat praying, screaming, crying and shouting: 




JOHN F. BLISS, 

of Hebron. 

Enlisted Oct. 5, 1861 ; mustered 

Corporal Oct. 26, 1861 ; discharged 

Oct. 26, 1864, time expired. 



244 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

" Lordy, Gody, massa, don't let 'em kill us." For a few minutes it was a 
veritable black panic and all thought they would be captured. 

This was one of the first engagements in which negroes were put to the 
front; the prejudice against using negro troops was at fever heat, both 
armies hated them. The Confederates threatened to shoot everyone they 
caught wearing the Yankee uniform, and the Unionists ridiculed and in 
many cases refused to serve beside them or in the same brigades. This 
feeling made Corporal Bliss both afraid and ashamed to be taken prisoner, 
for it was humiliating to be caught fighting with a lot of "niggers." It was 
generally believed that a white officer would be shot as a negro if in com- 
mand of a colored company, or be treated in some outrageous and degrad- 
ing manner. Corporal Bliss says that many times he wished he was with 
his own Battery. "I wouldn't have minded being taken prisoner with my 
own Battery," he says, "but to be gobbled up with a lot of ' niggers ' was 
galling. The very contemplation of a hell of horrors was a picnic compared 
with the prospect of being taken prisoner in such company." Corporal Bliss 
was an officer commanding a battery on corporal's pay. "I got the name 
without the game," he often laughingly remarks. 

When the Confederates were firing into the Milton the comrades lay 
down behind the taffrail, and the colored troops with every shot that was 
fired ran from one end of the boat to the other crying out "Lor' a Gody 
massa! Lor' a Gody, massa! " 

When the first shot was fired Major Strong, who was in command of 
the colored company, lowered a small boat and pulled to the Enoch Dean 
saying to Lieut. Clinton that he was going to report to Col. Higginson and 
would soon return. He did not return, however, to the Milton, so Lieut. 
Clinton was left in full command of the colored company and the battery. 

Although the pilot, a white man, was heavily barricaded, to protect him 
from being shot, he was frightened and panic stricken, and in his nervoiis- 
ness missed the channel and ran the Milton on the top of the piling instead 
of through the channel opened by the John Adams. The Enoch Dean saw 
the catastrophe and pulled the Governor Milton off the piles, but the pilot 
again ran her on, and this time she was so rammed in between the piles that 
the Enoch Dean could not move her. " If we had stayed until low water," 
says Comrade Huntington, "we should have resembled a weather-vane on a 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861-1865 



245 



church steeple." The captain of the John Adams seeing the Milton's 
trouble steamed up to her to give aid, but the enemy opened so vigorously 
on the two steamers and the tide was going out so rapidly that, fearing 
his boat might get stuck on the dangerous obstruction, he endeavored to get 
away without taking the soldiers from the Milton. Lieut. Clinton, always 
equal to any emergency, ordered a line thrown around the capstan of 
the John Adams, and held there until all his men got aboard, threatening to 
shoot anyone who should attempt to throw the line off while his men were 
getting aboard. 

When the Lieutenant saw that he could not save the steamer he ordered 
one gun to be run overboard, the other gun he spiked by inserting an 
inverted shell in it. Subsequently a notice in a Richmond paper claimed 

that Gen. Beauregard raised both guns and ex- 
hibited them as captured trophies. 

The official report of the Confederate Colonel 
Aiken, in command, differs from the statement 
made about Beauregard raising the guns, for he 
reports: " From the wreck of the steamer destroy- 
ed we took two brass rifled six-pounders, with 
carriages, etc., uninjured and in good order." 

By this report it appears that the gun thrown 
overboard from the Milton was recovered at once 
by the enemy, together with the one spiked by 
Lieutenant Clinton. 

When all the soldiers from the Milton were on 
board the John Adams, that steamer backed down 
about a hundred yards, and Lieut. Clinton ordered 
Corp. Huntington to take a squad of men in a 
small boat and row against the tide to the deserted Governor Milton and 
set her on fire. The brave Corporal did not relish the work ; he knew it 
was a kind of forlorn hope, full of danger and with scarcely a chance of 
escape, but he obeyed the order promptly, did his work well, and returned 
with his squad safely to the John Adams. 

Col. Higginson, in his official report, does not mention the loss of 
the guns. 




HENRY M. HUNTINGTON, 

of Milford. 
Enlisted Nov. 19, 1861 ; mus- 
tered Corporal same day; dis- 
charged Nov. 19, 1864 ; time ex- 
pired. 



246 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

" Descending the river the Dean had another fight with her old enemies, 
apparently reinforced," he writes, "who shelled iis very severely from a 
point near Willtown. We passed the piles successfnlly, but regretted to 
find the Milton aground upon them. The John Adams tried in vain to 
pull her off, and the officers on board were reluctantly compelled to 
abandon her, as the tide was falling rapidly. I was drawing in the pickets 
and taking them on board the Dean when this decision was made, and when 
informed of it it was too late for me to do anything but order the little 
vessel to be set on fire, which was accordingly done, the few men — ■ 
small force — on board having been safely removed." 

The Confederates claim that the Milton was fired by one of their shells 
Col. Aiken, commanding the 6th South Carolina Cavalry, reports: 

"Two gunboats were intercepted by a section of the Washington 
Artillery, under Lieut. vS, G. Horsey, and by them driven back. Before 
their return a section of the Marion Artillery, Lieut. Robert Murdoch, 
commanding, had arrived, and was ordered to join the Chesnut Battery at 
Gibbes' Farm. These men deserve special mention for their conduct, and 
to their guns is attributable the destruction of one of the enemy's gunboats. 
It was set on fire by a shell and burned to the water's edge." 

Lieut. Thomas G. White, commanding Company F, Palmetto Battery, 
Light Artillery, reports: 

"We took up our position at Gibbes' place, in company with a section 
of the Marion Artillery, under Lieut. Murdoch, and there I believe we 
inflicted serious damage to the two boats returning, as several shots were 
seen to strike them both. These two got away, however, after leaving 
the third and smallest aground and afire on the obstructions below 
Willtown Bluff." 

During one of the engagements Col. Higginson was hit by a splinter 
and knocked down, stunned. He soon recovered and was able to continue 
in command. 

Comrade Hotchkiss has left on record a very interesting story of the 
expedition. He says that when the Milton got on the piles the John 
Adams and Enoch Dean were quite a distance down the river. "We 
shouted to them," he writes, "but they still kept on, and I made up my 
mind we should be gobbled up by the rebs. I saw Capt. Trowbridge rush 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 



247 



aft on the Adams and heard him exclaim to Col. Higginson, who was in 
command of the whole, ' For God's sake, Colonel, are you going to leave 
those boys to be captured ? ' Then the John Adams reversed her engines 
and came to us. She threw a hawser and tried to pull us off, but only got 
us more firmly fixed on the piles, the hawser breaking. vShe then backed 
up near enough for us to throw a plank aboard, and we were soon on the 
deck of the Adams, including the body of our engineer. But we could not 
get our two guns off, and so we dumped them overboard. We could not 
act differently. The Adams would not wait, so over they went, and some 
of us cried over their loss. The pitch pine taken to burn the railroad 
bridge was set fire to and we left her to destruction." 

While the John Adams lay off the Morris dock 
a number of negroes, contrabands, as Gen. Benjamin 
Butler had named them, were taken on board. One 
family, consisting of a man, wife and sister with 
several geese and some chickens, came along side in 
a dug out, which capsized. The three persons threw 
up their arms and appeared to be drowning as they 
sank from sight. In a few minutes the women were 
fished up and began wailing and sobbing over the 
drowning of their husband and brother. The crying 
became almost unendurable when it was interrupted 
by the appearance of the man, who had been taken 
out of the water on the other side of the boat. The wailing turned to 
laughing, and hysterically all three joined in a noisy reunion worth seeing 
and hearing. 

Comrade Henry Smith was sent ashore to bur}' the engineer at 
Willtown Bluff, where his body still lies. 

While the boats had been sailing up the river they were hailed by the 
slaves, who wanted to get on board; some plunged into the river and swam 
to the boats and were taken on board. One fine-looking mulatto lad as 
soon as he got on board began to make himself useful carrying ammuni- 
tion for the guns and in other ways. He sat down to rest for a minute, when 
a. piece of shell struck him, taking off one of his legs. Two slaves, a man 
and woman, attemped to get freedom by reaching the boats in a flat 




A Contraband. 



248 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

bottomed square-end row boat, called a batteau. In their excitement as 
the shells were bursting over their heads, the batteau went over and both 
were drowned. 

Col. Aiken in his report speaks of the negroes being taken on board the 
Unionist boats in very strong terms: 

"The enemy burned the mill of Col. Morris, and in their despoliation 
upon the residences at Willtown left unmistakable evidence of their despic- 
able character as a set of thieves and marauders. They took off about 120 
to 130 negroes." 

A comrade who was one of those transferred to the John Adams says: 
"There was an upper deck over the driveways on the Adams, and while she 
lay at the Morris Landing the darkies from all quarters came aboard loaded 
down with their household goods, bedding, etc., as much as each one could 
carry, and they were stowed away on those upper decks until there was no 
room for more. 

"The enemy opened on us from any point of land that came down near 
the river, but they did no damage, until we were four miles below the 
Morris place. There the high ground reached the river and they had a 
clear sweep of the river for over a mile. When we came roimd a bend 
and in full view of the Confederates they were prepared for us. Our 
Battery boys took charge of the two Parrot guns. I prepared the ammuni- 
tion as fast as they called for it, from a small room in front of the starboard 
wheel. The Adams was leading and we had to pass quite close to their 
guns before we could reach a bend of the river where we could get cover. 
It was a lively artillery duel, their shot tore through the Adams, wounding a 
good many darkies on the upper deck, but most of their shot went too high 
and were solid. We went round that point all steam on, with the Dean 
under our lee. 

"We escaped, and after one more artillery duel at a longer range we 
finally got into the Sound, after sundown, and under cover of one of our 
gunboats, where we anchored. 

"The result of the expedition can be easily summed up. We destroyed 
a few hundred bushels of rice, burned the mill, captured a lieutenant and 
two men, brought off some two hundred contrabands with their baggage, 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 249 

lost two men and had several wounded. I got a hundred pound note of 1776 
and other Continental money from the Morris house." 

Corporal Bliss says that when the Enoch Dean dropped down the 
stream and was under the protection of the gunboat Kingfisher he breathed 
easier than he had done while he, a Corporal, was acting Lieutenant 
commanding a battery. "I was devoutly thankful," he says, "and vowed 
that if ever I reached my company in safety I would never volunteer for 
another nigger expedition." 

A few months later the prejudice against negro troops wore away and 
Union soldiers made up their minds that a negro's body was just as good as 
a white man's for stopping a bullet. The Confederate prejudice was not so 
easily overcome. Later some of the negro regiments proved to be good and 
efficient, the men brave and good fighters, notably the 54th Massachusetts 
under Col. Shaw, whose gallant conduct at James Island when the 
Connecticut Light Battery went there for the third time, and at the 
storming of Fort Wagner, made even Comrade Bliss acknowledge that the 
negro was a real good fellow after all. 

A comrade speaking some years later of the expedition said he believed 
the ' ' expedition was a failure owing to the long delay in removing the piles. 
There was no need to lose the guns, as they could have been hoisted on 
board the John Adams in a few minutes, but the Adams was in too great a 
hurry to get away. When the first shell crashed through the Governor 
Milton, Comrade Henry Smith skipped up and got into the captain's berth 
aft of the pilot house; just about as soon as he lay down a shell passed under 
it touching the slats. That was enough for the comrade, for he again 
descended to the main deck, and a three-quarter inch partition sheltered 
him, and he was saved." Comrade Stevens narrowly escaped drowning by 
the capsizing of a boat and Comrade McNary received a slight wound in the 
shoulder. 

Col. Higginson reported that the "artillerists, both white and black, 
did themselves much credit, as, indeed, did all my command in all the 
engagements. We brought away about 200 contrabands, six bales of cotton 
of the best quality, and two prisoners. Both were captured by my 
skirmishers, with their horses and full equipments. . . . My command 
reports two killed (Privates July Green, Company A, and William S. Verdier 



250 



HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 



Company C) and one wounded (myself), not severely; struck by a splinter 
in the side. Besides these, the assistant engineer of the Milton (Mr. Mills) 
was killed and one contraband, name unknown ; one sailor was slightly 
wounded in the foot, and one contraband lost a leg. 

"Considering the number of shells that exploded in and near the 
vessels, I am surprised that the list is not larger. 

"The loss of the enemy is unknown, but the prisoners stated that one 
of our first shots dismounted a gun and killed three men." 

Col. Aiken, in command of the Confederates, closes his report with the 
confession: "We probably prevented the enemy doing more than they have 
done, but cannot congratulate ourselves that we did not accomplish more." 

A detachment which was sent ashore from the John Adams found that 
the shell from the gunboats had done considerable damage in Willtown 
wrecking the houses and scattering the furniture and other things in ever\" 
direction. Apparently some of the natives had commenced packing a few 
necessary articles for a hasty flight, but were imable to take them, for partly- 
packed valises and boxes were found, and in some places food was on the 
tables ready for early breakfast. 

At daybreak on July 12, 1863, the John Adams and Enoch Dean steamed 
back to Beaufort, arriving there promptly and finding everything in a state 
of preparation for some expedition of great import. 




DRUMMER BOYS. 



251 



CHAPTER XII. 



THE FIGHT AT GRIMBALL'S LANDING, JAMES ISLAND. 




HARLESTON was again the point against which all 
the power of the Unionists in the Department of the 
South was to be concentrated. 

" Charleston must be defended at any cost to life 
or property, and the people of South Carolina would 
prefer a repulse of the enemy with the entire city in 
ruins to an evacuation or surrender on any terms 
whatever." This was the resolution of the people of 
South Carolina in convention assembled. 

The Unionists were equally determined that the city should fall. 
On July 12, 1863, the First Connecticut Light Battery was called upon 
to take part in the third expedition against Charleston, 

The Battery, now having only four guns, left Beaufort on Sunday night 
about 10 o'clock, loaded on an old New York ferryboat. Comrade Tall- 
madge says that life on that ferryboat was one of positive torture. It had 
to keep close to the shore, and very often the bottom of the boat grated 
on the sand bars and mud. "It was a case of bumpety bump, with the 
expectation of finding the boat going to pieces or sinking at any moment," 
the comrade recalls. 

Comrade Griswold writes: "There were no orders read on parade, 
which always give information to the enemy. One regiment and then 
another disappeared, and but few knew that they had gone, and only the 
officers knew where. Orderlies were coming and going from our camp at 
Beaufort all day Saturday and Sunday; in the afternoon we had orders to 
move at short notice, taking a transport, for where we did not know, but 



252 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

next morning we found ourselves at Stono Inlet and were under the 
command of Gen. Terry and attached to his command. We moved up 
James Island with all the demonstration possible and went into camp; 
baggage wagons were going to and from the landing, but empty. We were 
called out several times before night, but had no severe fighting." 

Gen. Quincy A. Gillmore, being in command of the Department of the 
South, was authorized from Washington to undertake the movement against 
Charleston, because of his success against Fort Pulaski, and of the confidence 
which the Secretary of War had in his ability to reduce Fort Sumter, by 
similar methods, in co-operation with the Navy. Gen. Gillmore was 
a brilliant, daring, yet careful engineer, and therefore well adapted for 
the work. He thus outlines his " Plan of Attack: " 

' ' First. To make a descent upon and obtain possession of the south end 
of Morris Island, known to be occupied by the enemy, and in progress of 
being strongly fortified, offensively and defensively. 

" Second. To lay siege to and reduce Fort Wagner, a heavily armed 
earthwork of strong plan and relief, situated near the north end of Morris 
Island, and distant about 2,600 yards from Fort Sumter. With Fort 
Wagner, the work on Cumming's Point would also fall. 

" Third. From the position thus secured, to demolish Fort Sumter, and 
afterward co-operate with the fleet by a heavy artillery fire when it was 
ready to move in. 

"Fourth. The monitors and ironclads to enter, remove the channel 
obstructions, run by the batteries on James and Sullivan's Islands, and 
reach the city. 

"No written instructions whatever were given by the War Department, 
everything connected with the operations of the land forces in general and 
in detail being left to the judgment and discretion of the officer intrusted 
with the execution of the project. It was presumed that, as soon as the fleet 
should reach the city, the outer line of defences thus broken through would 
be abandoned by the enemy, for the control of Cooper and Wando Rivers 
by our gunboats and the operations of the land forces, which they could then 
aid and cover, would compel the evacuation of Sullivan's Island, after which 
the possession of James Island would be of but little value to the enemy." 

It will be seen that Gen. Gillmore had laid his plans carefully and had 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861-1865 253 

worked out all the possibilities with the same deliberation as would an 
expert chess player. It was not sufficient to make one move and trust to 
luck as to the right place to make the second; that was not Gillmore's way, 
he calculated all the chances and planned every move. 

So far-reaching was his plan that it became evident that the real object 
of the Pon Pon River expedition was to deceive the enemy as to the real 
objective of the movement, as well as the cutting of the Charleston and 
Savannah Railroad, in order to delay reinforcements from Savannah should 
the real attack be temporarily checked or prematurely divulged. Gen. 
Gillmore regretted that the attempt to cut the railroad " signally failed, with 
a loss to us of two pieces of field artillery and a small steamer, which was 
burned to prevent it falling into the hands of the enemy." 

Fort Wagner was a very strong earthwork, measuring on the inside six 
hundred and thirty feet from the east to west, and two hundred and seventy- 
five feet from north to south. It had a bomb-proof magazine, and a heavy 
traverse protecting the guns from any possible attack from the land side. 
Behind the sea face was a well-constructed bomb-proof, into which no shot 
ever penetrated. The land face was constructed with re-entering angles, so 
that the approaches could all be swept by cross fire, and the work was 
surrounded by a ditch filled with water, in which was a line of boarding pikes 
fastened together with interlaced wire, and there were also pickets at the 
front of the fort with interwoven wire a slight distance above the ground, 
to impede the steps of any assaulting force. It has often been described by 
engineering authorities as the most perfect and elaborate fort constructed 
during the war. It was designed and constructed by Capt. Cleves, who 
was killed by one of the very first shells fired at it. 

The northerly end of Folly Island was separated from Morris Island by 
the narrow strip of water known as Light House Inlet, and was thickly 
covered with a dense growth of small trees and brush. Gen. Vogdes com- 
manded on Folly Island, and with rare ability and skill succeeded in 
erecting some formidable batteries and placing the guns without the enemy 
discovering what he was doing. The work was done chiefly at night, and 
the men worked in perfect silence. During the night of July lo the thickets 
that masked these batteries were cut away, and at dawn the guns opened 
fire suddenly upon the most southerly works on Morris Island, while 



254 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

at the same time the fleet, commanded by Admiral Dahlgren, who had 
succeeded Admiral Du Pont, opened fire upon Fort Wagner. Under 
cover of this fire the troops were landed, and the earthworks at that end of 
the island quickly taken. The day was intensely hot, and so the attack on 
Fort Wagner was postponed until the next morning, when it proved a failure. 

Capt. Rockwell, speaking of this movement, says: "The surprise was 
so complete and the attack so little expected that the enemy had made no 
attempt to strengthen the very feeble garrisons of their works. The 
secrecy with which the batteries on Folly Island had been built contributed 
more than any one circumstance to the ease and quickness with which the 
enemy's works were taken. The taking of them was brilliantly done. The 
great mistake was that this success was not followed t:p by an assault of 
Fort Wagner t/iat very day. The Confederate records show that the 
garrison of Wagner was very small and was demoralized by our success. 
There is hardly a question that we could and should have taken Wagner 
that day. That night the enemy threw a large number of men into 
Wagner, and these reinforcements decided the battle of the next morning. 
I have always felt that the delay of the assault was worse than a blunder. 
Gen. Gillmore should have had an ample force on P'olly Island all ready, and 
have poured them on to Morris Island. They would have swept everything 
before them. 

" I have it from a Confederate officer, who was often in Wagner during 
the siege, that Wagner was not nearly as strong on July the loth as it after- 
wards was made. Gen. Gillmore was an excellent engineer, but not a good 
commander of troops in the field." 

On July nth the 7th Connecticut was to lead the charge, supported 
by the 76th Pennsylvania and the 9th Maine. A bayonet charge was 
contemplated, and Gen. Gillmore was certain that it would be successful. 
Very early on the morning of the nth, almost before the sun rose, these 
regiments silently moved forward, drove in the enemy's pickets, and, with a 
cheer, rushed into the ditch and right up to the parapet, but the foe was 
stubborn and composed of men who were prepared to sell their lives dearly. 
They poured grape and canister into the ranks of the Unionists, and the 9th 
Maine staggered, wavered and then fell back demoralized. The 76th 
Pennsylvania held its ground, but the odds were too great and with almost 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 255 

breaking hearts the regiment had to retire. The 6th Connecticut remained 
in the rifle pits before Fort Wagner all night, keeping a sharp look-out for 
any attempted action on the part of the enemy. The rain fell in torrents, 
but not a man flinched. 

In order to draw the attention of the enemy away from Morris Island a 
strong force, under command of Gen. Alfred H. Terry, landed on James 
Island, and on the afternoon of the loth of July, 1863, made a movement 
forward of about a mile and a half up the island, with the Pawnee under 
way and shelling the woods in advance. The fire of the vessel was directed 
from the shore, the nature of the country not admitting of accuracy of fire 
from the decks without signals. About dark, the outpost being established 
on shore, the Pawnee moved up to Wright's Landing and anchored. 

It was at this crisis that the First Connecticut Light Battery was ordered 
to James Island to co-operate with the force under Gen. Terry. 

When the Battery was off Hilton Head the Cosmopolitan came alongside 
with 250 wounded soldiers on board, men who had been disabled on Folly 
and Morris Islands. Many of them were Confederates. Some were so 
badly wounded that they prayed to be shot, and so put out of their misery. 
Comrades shuddered as they realized that war was so terrible, but they did 
not shrink, because they were fighting for the country Washington had 
founded, and what their fathers had bled and died to establish they were not 
going to allow to be ruined and destroyed. 

The Battery arrived at James Island about 5 o'clock in the afternoon 
and landed three hours later, getting into camp at 9 o'clock, near Grimball's 
Landing. 

The next day the camp was moved nearer Charleston, and for two days 
settled down to all the comforts which could be obtained amid the heat and 
drenching rain, the flies, fleas and mosquitoes. 

As soon as the Battery was established on the Island, Gen. Terry sent 
for Capt. Rockwell, and informed him that the movement on James Island 
was intended as a demonstration only to lead the enemy to believe that the 
attack upon Charleston was to be by the James Island route, that he in- 
tended the enemy should attack him, and that it was expected an attack 
might be made any morning at daybreak. Gen. Terry went with Capt. 
Rockwell and pointed out the ground where the line of battle would be 



256 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

formed, indicating the exact position to be occupied by the battery in a gap 
in the line. Orders were given for the horses to remain harnessed all 
night. 

At half-past four on the morning of the i6th of July, 1863, the enemy 
opened fire on the gunboat Pawnee from a battery of fourteen guns, which 
had been placed in the night. The position of the enemy's battery was such 
that the Pawnee could not get her guns to bear on it, and before the cable 
could be slipped and a new position taken the boat was struck 39 times. 

Comrade William Fowler was troubled with insomnia. He was in the 
habit of walking about the camp at night when sleep would not come to his 
tired body. In more than one instance this sleeplessness was of the 
greatest service to the Battery, and once, at least, to the Union army. 
On the night when the Confederates opened on the Pawnee, Fowler says 
he was wandering about wooing sleep when the noise of the guns reached 
him. He assisted the sentinels in giving the alarm, and as the comrades 
had been ordered to sleep with arms and equipments on, the men were 
ready to start as soon as the order rang out: 

" Boots and Saddles. " 

The enemy's battery was hidden by a hedge which skirted the edge of 
the woods, so it could only be located by the smoke as each shot was fired. 

Gen. Alfred H. Terry says: "My troops were speedily under arms, and 
as soon as the pickets were in, I opened on the enemy from Rockwell's 
battery and the armed transports Mayflower and John Adams. The naval 
vessels also opened a most effective fire upon my left." 

The Connecticut Battery had an advantage in having been over the 
ground before, and therefore the range was a matter of certainty, and the 
execution done by the guns was fine. 

The loth Connecticut and the 54th Massachusetts assumed their 
positions of support and the whole force was engaged. 

The Battery double-quicked out of park about 100 yards and shelled 
the woods, firing so rapidly and accurately that the officers' hearts beat with 
pride. The enemy moved out of the shelter of the woods into the open 
field and got into shorter range, when the order was given to fire canister. 
As rapidly as the guns could be worked the death-dealing canister wrought 
havoc in the ranks of the enemy. 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 257 

The Battery had only time to get the guns just outside of camp when 
the enemy fired the first shots from behind the hedge. One round shot 
struck the cook's tent, upsetting the coffee kettle and making the ashes fly 
in every direction. This erratic shot after striking, ricochetted into a 
cedar tree tearing off a limb as large as a man's leg; it then rolled a short 
distance in the sand, and was picked up by Comrade Mark Hall, polished 
as bright and smooth as a mirror, and glistening like a diamond, through 
the friction of the sand. 

Comrade Emery Norwood was a short, thick-set man, who had allowed 
himself to drift into a habit of swearing about everything that did not seem 
to go exactly as he wished, but his profanity lost half its force by the half- 
joking manner in which he spoke. He was cooking his breakfast when the 
shot put out his fire and upset his coffee-kettle. For once he swore in such 
earnest that there was no mistaking his anger and the "Johnnies" would 
have fared badly if they had been within reach. 

Several shells passed over the guns and exploded in the park, wounding 
the off-wheel horses on the three right caissons so badly that they had to be 
killed. Another shell passed through the hospital tent, narrowly escaping 
some of the sick and giving them a bad scare. 

In speaking of the killing of the three horses, a comrade says that 
undoubtedly one horse was killed by the concussion, for the horse, though 
not struck, died in about fifteen minutes. The shot struck the horse's 
saddle, passed through the head of the second horse and shot off the nose of 
the third. 

Mark Hall says: " One of the horses showed unusual sagacity. It had 
been wounded by a shot grazing its nose, and making a nasty semi-circular 
wound. Knowing its driver's tent, which I shared, the intelligent animal 
ran to it, and when I pushed aside the flap, the horse exhibited its bleeding 
nose, asking, as well as a dumb animal could, to have its wound dressed." 

The enemy advanced four regiments of infantry accompanied by 
artillery, upon the right of the Union line, driving in the outposts and 
supports and opening a severe fire from their guns. 

The enemy's force numbered 9,000 infantry, one light battery and 
about 200 cavalry, when it advanced at 5 o'clock that morning on Gen. 
Terr}'. At ten minutes past seven the enemy was in full retreat toward 



258 



HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 



Secessionville, having been defeated with considerable loss. The cross fire 
of the gunboats on the enemy proved more than they could stand, and, as a 
comrade says: "The enemy started pell-mell, artillery, cavalry and 
infantry, for the causeway that led into the woods, and knowing the ground 
full well we gave them spherical case rapidly, every shell opening a space 
in their ranks." 

While Comrade John E. Albro was moving a load of ammunition 
out of the range of the enemy's battery, concealed in the bushes on the 

north side of James Island, a piece of shell 
struck and wounded him in both arms, though, 
fortunately, not seriously. 

In recalling this battle Capt. Rockwell 
says: "The caissons were ordered to remain in 
park while the guns moved forward to the posi- 
tion assigned to the Battery. One of Gen. 
Terry's aides met us just as we were moving out 
of park, to make sure there was no delay. It 
must be remembered that General Terry had 
only between 2,000 and 3,000 men, and that our 
four guns were the only light artillery with him. 
As we were going into battery I was informed by 
Gen. Stevenson, commanding the brigade on our 
left, that our pickets had been driven in, and that 
he expected the enemy's skirmishers might open 
on us at any moment from a hedge, some three 
hundred yards in our front. I immediately ordered the guns loaded with 
canister. The hedge was so high, that even on horseback one could not see 
the open, level field beyond it. After waiting, in silence and suspense, 
some ten minutes, perhaps, Gen. Stevenson ordered Col. Shaw, of the 54th 
Massachusetts (colored), to send forward skirmishers to the hedge to 
feel the enemy. These were deployed and advanced along our front, about 
half way to the hedge, when the first shots from the enemy's guns came 
flying over our heads. For a moment the situation was very trying. The 
guns were loaded with canister, and a line of skirmishers was across our 
front. Without waiting for orders I shouted to the skirmishers that we 




JOHN E. ALBRO, 
of East Windsor. 
Enlisted Oct lo, 1861; mustered 
in as Wagoner Nov. 14, '61; 
wounded July 16, 1863, at James 
Island, .S. C. Re-enlisted Veteran 
Dec 26, 1863; mustered out June 
II, 1S65. 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 259 

were loaded with canister and about to fire. Our front was cleared in an 
instant. I remember wondering where they had disappeared to. The 
canister round did, of course, no execution, but the shell, that followed 
rapidly, certainly did some. We could only see the smoke of the enemy's 
light battery because of the hedge. Our guns were admirably served. The 
enemy's shot went mostly just over our heads; the few that struck near the 
guns did no damage. The only loss was from the shot that struck among 
the caissons in the camp. To avoid further trouble I ordered the caissons 
to be brought forward. 

"I have frequently met, since that day. Dr. Greene, the Surgeon of 
the 24th Massachusetts, on our left. He never fails to recall that action' 
and always enlarges, in enthusiastic terms, upon the rapidity of our 
firing and the efficiency of the Batter}". I do not think it required more 
than 15 to 20 minutes to silence the enemy's guns, perhaps less. After the 
enemy had retired, I rode forward to where the guns of their advanced 
section, which had done the firing, had stood. How much they had suffered 
I could not tell, but there were indications, in the shape of a dead horse, a 
bloody jacket and broken guidon of the accuracy of our fire. One of our 
percussion shells had struck the ground immediately under one of the 
guns." 

During the firing of shell by the Battery one of the cannoneers put in a 
cartridge and shell to be rammed down at one time, instead of separately. 
The mouth of the cartridge bag wedged the shell, and the combined efforts 
of Numbers One and Two could not get it more than half way down. 

The cartridges were made by putting powder into small cloth bags, 
which were closed at the top by a string; this left a loose, ragged edge at the 
mouth of each cartridge when it was tied. In loading the piece, if the 
cartridge and shell were inserted at the same time, a bit of the ragged edge 
of the cloth was apt to get wedged between the shell and grooving of the 
gun, before it could be rammed home, so care had to be taken to avoid 
accidents of that nature, hence strict orders were given to gunners never to 
insert the shell and cartridge at the same time. In the eagerness and 
excitement of the battle, these orders were disobeyed by the cannoneer and 
the gun rendered for the time useless. 

Capt. Rockwell immediately noticed that the gun had ceased firing 



260 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

and rode up to the detachment. In a stern, commanding voice, which 
showed that he expected to find something serious the matter, he demanded: 

" What is the matter with this piece? " 

" A shell is stuck in the middle of it," Sergeant Clark answered with a 
salute. 

" Get the spare pole, put the entire detachment on it, and ram it down." 

Corporal Beecher saluted and informed the Captain that it was a per- 
cussion shell in the gun, and ramming it with the spare pole might cause an 
explosion and blow up the entire detachment. The Captain looked mad, 
but only exclaimed: 

"The devil!" 

Equal to the emergency, he ordered that some fine powder should be 
punched in the vent and a friction primer inserted. Then two or three 
lanyards were fastened together, so that Comrade Joseph Fowler, who was 
No. 4 on the piece, could get as far away from the gun as possible before 
pulling them. The lanyards were attached to the friction primer. It was 
expected that the gun might burst, and there was a great danger that in doing 
so many of the detachment might be injured, so the comrades covered, by 
either lying down or getting behind something. Comrade Joseph Fowler 
hugged the ground as close as possible as he pulled the lanyard. The 
gun was fired, and stood the strain remarkably well, for while it bulged a 
little it was not materially injured and did some accurate firing afterwards. 

The loth Connecticut had a very narrow escape of being captured. 
When the enemy opened fire on the Union pickets the loth Connecticut was 
on the left, and had to file to the right to get into camp on account of an 
impassable swamp in the rear. The right of the picket line was held by the 
54th Massachusetts and had it not held its position until the 10th Connecti- 
cut arrived the Confederates would have captured the loth easily. The 
colored comrades received the hearty thanks of the comrades from Connecti- 
cut for their gallant conduct. 

A very painful incident is told by the comrades of the treatment by the 
Confederates of some of the negro soldiers of the 54th Massachusetts 
regiment. About 40 of them were stationed on an island, or point, in the 
Folly River, and before they had orders to leave the enemy had cut off their 
retreat. The brave fellows fought nobly until more than one-half of their 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861-1865 261 

number was slain, when they were compelled to surrender. As soon as 
they had laid down their arms they were stripped of their clothing and 
ordered to run the gauntlet between two lines of men, who, with clubbed 
muskets, beat out their brains. Only three escaped by jumping into the 
river and crawling along the bottom. One of the three got into the camp 
of the Connecticut Battery and was a startling sight to behold. He was 
stark naked, his body cut with oyster-shells, and blood oozing from a dozen 
places. The comrades made up a purse for him very quickly. 

Comrade Sloan tells of the fear the Confederate prisoners had of the 
victors. "Six prisoners were brought through our lines," he says, "while we 
were drinking coffee. We asked them to have a drink, but at first they 
refused, fearing the coffee had been poisoned, but finally one plucked up 
courage to try a drink, and the others followed his example and got away 
with quite a lot of coffee. 

" Comrade William Fowler offered one of the prisoners a fifty cent 
piece, telling him that he would be sent to prison, and some of the United 
States money would come handy to have. The man took the coin but 
only stared at the giver, acting as if too frightened to thank him. The 
Johnnies looked so lean, hungry and poorly clad that they excited the 
sympathy of the Battery boys, and caused them to make up a purse of 
silver for them amounting to several dollars. Some of the comrades 
divided their rations with them." 

"The caisson limbers were ordered to the front, and the three whose 
wheel horses were shot made quite a show. I drove one limber, riding the 
nigh-wheel horse, and having for an off-horse one of the swing horses with 
the long traces. " 

Gen. Terry mentions the Battery in his official report in these 
words : 

"I desire to report to the commanding General the good service of 
Capt. Rockwell and his Battery, and the steadiness and soldierly conduct of 
the 54th Massachusetts Regiment who were on duty at the outposts on 
the right and met the brunt of the attack." 

Colonel Charlton H. Way, commanding the 54th Georgia Confederate 
Infantry, pays his compliments to the Battery by saying: " My command 
was perceived by the enemy's light batteries, which had been stationed on a 



262 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

hill and apparently (in the gray of the morning) within an earthwork. A 
terrible fire was opened upon us from these batteries in front." 

Undoubtedly Col. Way had a very vivid imagination, for the Unionists 
had no earthworks, but stood in the open, and there is not a natural hill 
upon the island. 

The next night the order came to evacuate James Island. Comrade 
Hotchkiss, writing on the following day, thus describes the evacuation : 

" The Confederates were in heavy force in front of us. Along the river 
banks on James Island there is a considerable number of trees and much 
brush. As soon as it was dark , the troops came quietly from the front 
through the biishes, and until midnight they were pouring over the cause- 
way to the landing at the Inlet. Our battery was kept hitched up ready to 
move either to the front or rear. Near midnight we were told that the ist 
South Carolina Regiment was passing down. They were on picket in front 
of us. As they passed, General Terry and staff rode into our camp, and we 
knew that there was nothing between us and the enemy. General Terry 
ordered our battery to move out slovvl}^, and as quietly as possible. We had 
to take to an open road, and if the enemy got the least idea that the troops 
had been withdrawn our batter}^ would have been gobbled up sure. We 
passed on down the Island, but had trouble in getting over the causeway, 
which was lumbered up with broken wagons, hard tack in boxes, and other 
things. After getting over the bridge its timbers were cut and bridge de- 
stroyed, and we went into battery to protect our troops, who were being 
loaded on transports. The grass was high and wet with dew, so I straddled 
the right gun, put my blanket on the muzzle, and lay there, finding it a rather 
hard but cool bed. We saw nothing of the enemy until the morning, and 
then they did not trouble us, for our gunboats were strung along above and 
below the landing, and we were able to take our time to load on 
steamer." 

While the Battery was on the John Adams the rain was falling unmerci- 
fully, and some infantry sought shelter on board. The comrade told them 
that there was no room on deck, but that there were a number of infantry 
below. " We did-not tell them," said a comrade, " that those who were be- 
low had been killed in the battle. It was pitch dark, and the men lay down 
between the corpses and slept until daylight; when the first man awoke and 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 263 

found with whom he had slept, his exclamation awoke the others, and they 
rushed up to the deck in a big hurry." 

Capt. Rockwell says: "The evacuation of James Island had to be con- 
ducted with great care. Our force was small, the enemy's large. Gen. 
Terry's demonstration and our successful repulse of them had led them to 
believe that it was a serious move. Orders were given that camp fires 
should be kept burning, but no other lights allowed in the camp after 
taps. The night was the darkest that I can remember ever to have been 
out in, and the loading into the wagons and moving down to the land- 
ing at the lower end of the island was difficult and tedious. I remember 
that, in addition to the tents, etc., there were some ten days' supply of hay 
and oats transported. In loading the oats, Lieut. Metcalf and I stood for a 
time, one on each side of the wagon-tail, with lighted cigars, to mark where 
the bags of oats were to be thrown. In spite of the many obstacles, how- 
ever, everything was sent to the landing before the order came to the 
Battery to move." 

The John Adams went down to Folly Island and remained there all 
day. There was neither forage for the horses nor rations for the men, 
for through the fault of some one at the landing, the forage and rations had 
been placed aboard another transport by mistake. It was not until nearly 
noon of the next day that the comrades were able to break their fast ; one 
comrade had been fortunate to get a cup of tea on the John Adams, for 
which he paid fifty cents. 

Even while disembarking on the sandy shores of Folly Island the 
thunder of the guns could be heard telling that Gen. Gillmore was again 
bombarding Fort Wagner. 

Early on the morning of the iSth of July, 1863, a determined assault 
was commenced with a force of six thousand men, the advance being led by 
the 54th Massachusetts, a regiment which had the honor of being the first 
enlisted after the Emancipation Proclamation. The colored men entered 
into the war with the greatest enthusiasm, and the majority showed no fear. 
The distrust with which they had been treated caused a private in the 54th 
Regiment to retaliate by writing a song, which spread like wildfire among 
the colored regiments. Its poetry is imperfect, but the sentiment is above 
criticism : 



264 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

Fremont told them, when the war it first begun, 
How to save the Union, and the way it should be done ; 
But Kentucky swore so hard, and Old Abe he had his fears, 
Till every hope was lost but the colored volunteers. 



Oh, give us a flag all free without a slave ! 

We'll fight to defend it as our fathers did so brave. 

The gallant comp'ny A will make the rebels dance; 

And we'll stand by the Union, if we only have the chance. 

McClellan went to Richmond with two hundred thousand brave; 
He said " Keep back the niggers," and the Union he would save, 
Little Mac he had his way, still the Union is in tears : 
Now they call for the help of the colored volunteers. 

Chorus. — Oh, give us a flag. etc. 

Old Jeff says he'll hang us if we dare to meet him armed — 
A very big thing, but we are not at all alarmed ; 
For he first has got to catch us before the way is clear. 
And "that's what's the matter" with the colored volunteer. 

Chorus. — Oh, give us a flag, etc. 

So rally, boys, rally 1 let us never mind the past, 
We had a hard road to travel, but our day is coming fast ; 
For God is for the right, and we have no need to fear, 
The Union will be saved by the colored volunteer. 

Chorus. — Oh, give us a flag, etc. 

Colonel Shaw wanted the 54th to have the chance to disting-uish 
themselves, and he was given the place of honor on that memorable day in 
front of Fort Wagner. Gen. Strong, who was to lead the charge, addressed 
the colored troops, saying: 

" Men of Massachusetts, I am going to put you in front of the chivalry 
of South Carolina, and they will pour iron hail in your faces; defend the 
flag and uphold the honor of the State of Massachusetts. The 6th Connecti- 
cut will be immediately behind you, and I know that not a man will flinch." 

A bombardment of the fort by the land batteries and the fleet was kept 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 265 

up from noon till dusk, and during its last hour there was a heavy thunder- 
storm. Then rang out the command : 

"Close column, by companies! " 

The first brigade marched forward, eager for the fray. The enemy 
waited until the men were well within range and then poured a galling fire 
into the ranks from their guns on the parapet. Sheets of musketry-fire 
blazed out from Fort Wagner, but the Unionists kept on. They crossed 
the ditch waist-deep in water, while hand grenades were thrown from the 
parapet to explode among them, and some even climbed up the rampart. 
But here the surviving remnant met a stout resistance and were hurled 
back. The night was so dark that it was almost impossible to tell friend 
from foe. Shrapnel, canister and grape were freely poured into the ranks, 
while the Unionists leaped down to the bombproofs, driving the enemy back. 

What has become of the second brigade? Generals Strong and 
Seymour were badly wounded, and had been taken to the rear; Col. Chatfield 
of the gallant 6th Connecticut again fell before the bullet of the enemy, 
he having been previously wounded at Pocotaligo; Col. Robert G. Shaw, 
the young commander of the colored regiment fell among his black com- 
rades. The brigade was really without a commander, but the troops held 
on for hours. If only the second brigade had reached them how different 
the result, but as it was, the noble soldiers of the 6th Connecticut and the 
54th Massachusetts had to retire — alas, their ranks terribly thinned. 

As they retired Forts Sumter, Johnston and Ripley, with batteries 
Gregg and Wagner, opened fire on them, still further decimating their ranks. 

The ditch was filled with dead bodies, the carnage was awful to 
contemplate. Fifteen hundred men were lost to the Unionists that day, while 
the Confederates' fatalities only reached a hundred. 

When the Confederates buried the dead, they threw the body of Col. 
Shaw into the bottom of a trench, and heaped upon it the bodies of colored 
soldiers, who had proved that the color of the skin did not diminish their 
valor. When the Unionists inquired for the body of the young Colonel, 
under a flag of truce, the contemptuous answer was returned : 

" We have buried him with his niggers." 

While every one had acted with heroic courage. Col. Shaw had especially 
distinguished himself, and Col. "Chatfield, of the 6th Connecticut, proved 



266 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

that while some might equal him in courage none could be his superior. 
In advancmg along that narrow strip of land, every foot of which was swept 
by a deadly fire, crossing the ditch and mounting the parapet, Col. Shaw 
exhibited a courage that it was impossible to surpass; while in organizing 
and leading men of the despised race, that were then struggling toward 
freedom, he showed a moral courage such as the Confederates could neither 
share nor comprehend. 

Gen. Strong and Col. Chatfield died a few days later from the wounds 
received in that charge on the Confederate fort. 

The wounded were soothed by the now world-famous Clara Barton, 
who was in the hospital at the first parallel, and the Rev. Henry Clay 
Trumbull, chaplain of the loth Connecticut, who was so diligent and 
assiduous that he was captured by the enemy and held a prisoner for 
many months. 

Gen. Alvin C. Voris, who was seriously wounded in the assault on Fort 
Wagner, testifies to the great and good work done by Mr. Trumbull. "I 
was shot within a hundred and fifty yards of the fort," he says, "and so 
disabled that I could not go forward. Two boys of the 62d Ohio found me 
and carried me to our first parallel, where had been arranged an extempore 
hospital. Here a savage surgeon sent his savage finger-nail into my 
lacerated side and pronounced the bullet beyond his reach, and said I would 
not need his further attention. Like a baby I fainted, and, on reviving, 
laid my poor aching head on a sandbag to recruit my little strength. That 
blessed chaplain, Henry Clay Trumbull, found ine and poured oil of 
gladness into my soul and brandy into my mouth, whereat I praised him as 
a dear good man and cursed that monster of a surgeon, which led the 
chaplain to think that the delirium was turning my brain, and he reported 
me among the dead of Wagner. " 

Deeds of magnificent bravery were not confined to the Union soldiers. 
The Southern Presbyterian narrates an incident of the last days of Battery 
Wagner. " In one case a squad of six men was ordered to repair a parapet 
which the enemy had cut down, and were still at work upon," it says. 
" They started out, and almost instantly a shell burst among them, killing 
one and wounding four; the remaining man picked up his sandbag and 
walked up to the breach without a moment's hesitation. The next squad 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 



267 



was called, and went up to the work in just the same manner. A lo-inch 
columbiad, loaded, was dismounted by the enemy's shot, fell over, and 
pointed directly at a magazine ; its carriage took fire, and the officers who 
ran up to it tried in vain to extinguish the fire by shovelling sand upon it. 
They called for volunteers, but the cannonade was too furious. Many 
shrank; it was not a command, but an invitation. At last one gallant 
fellow rushed up, joined the officers in their work, got the fire under, and 
came down, thank God, in perfect safety." 




A STRAGGLER. 



268 



CHAPTER XIII. 



FOLLY ISLAND. 




OLLY ISLAND, the most northerly position of the 
coast in the possession of the Union forces, was occu- 
pied by a brigade under Brig. Gen. Israel Vogdes, 
who had intrenched the position strongly, and had 
mounted several heavy guns on the south end of the 
island, to control the waters of Stono Inlet and the 
water approaches from James Island. A road had 
also been opened, practicable for infantry and artil- 
lery, by means of which a concealed communication with all points of the 
island was secured. 

The greater part of Folly Island was very thickly wooded, the under- 
growth being dense and almost impassable. Near the north end, for the 
distance of 2,000 yards, it was extremely narrow, perfectly barren and so 
low that the spring tides frequently swept entirely over it. At the extreme 
north end, however, the sand ridges, formed by the gradual action of the 
wind and tide, were, at the time the Light Battery went there from James 
Island, covered with a thick imdergrowth favorable for concealment and the 
masking of batteries. 

General Vogdes had caused a very strong battery to be erected at Stono, 
the point farthest away from the enemy. It is said that when Gen. Gillmore 
first saw the batteries erected by Vogdes he remarked that it was too bad 
the Island was not on a pivot so that the battery coi:ld be turned on 
the enemy. 

The Connecticut Light Battery was ordered to the upper end of the 
Island close to Morris Island, choosing high ground for the camp. 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 269 

When the Battery landed on Folly Island, prospecting for a camp, Gen. 
Vogdes told Capt. Rockwell that he might select the very best position on 
the Island, because the Battery deserved recognition, as it had undoubtedly 
saved the Brigade at James Island. Capt. Rockwell was elated at the 
praise and accepted the offer, selecting the very best site he could find for 
his command. 

When the Battery left James Island for Folly Island, one of the com- 
rades was in danger of being left behind. Comrade Joseph Fowler was very 
young, and when he became tired, was noted for being the soundest sleeper 
in the Battery. His brother William, who on account of his age, and his 
great affection for Joe, and knowing his weakness of sleeping under any and 
all conditions, kept a close watch over him. When the Battery left James 
Island the third time, the night was dark and miserable. Comrade Joe Fow- 
ler was missed, and William, as usual, made a search for him in the camp the 
Battery had just evacuated. William felt round in the dark, putting his hands 
on every object, or bundle, that had been left in camp, that he imagined 
might be his missing brother. After much fumbling about and searching he 
caught a glimpse of something like a bundle piled up on a sort of platform, that 
had been erected when the camp was pitched. He went for it, and, sure 
enough, it was Joe sleeping as soundly as a child, all unconcerned, and 
evidently intending to sleep until daylight, but for the faithful search made 
by his brother. William had to fairly drag Joe along. As the Battery had 
abandoned the camp, an hour later, Joe would have been awakened by the 
"Johnnies " and made a prisoner. William got him aboard the schooner 
on which the horses were. Joe climbed into the manger that had been 
hastily put up for feeding, and lay down to complete his nap, but the horses 
kept nibbling at him, and would have eaten all his clothes had he remained 
there long. It was a common saying among the comrades that this was the 
only time Joe Fowler ever selected a place to rest and was prevented sleep- 
ing. He had slept with dead bodies, on top of horses, and under horses, on 
rocks, and boards, on dry ground and wet ground, anything was good 
enough to make a bed for Comrade Joseph Fowler when he felt tired. 

After Beaufort and James Island it was a pleasant change, for the broad, 
hard beach, with the cool breezes from the ocean, made it an ideal riding 



270 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

ground, while the ever tumbling and roaring surf was a constant delight to 
the hearer. 

Folly Island beach, at low water, was hard and smooth, making an 
ideal drill ground. Captain Rockwell saw its advantages, and no battery 
ever had a better ground for drilling and maneuvering than had the First 
Connecticut Light Battery on the sands of Folly Island. 

One night the tide was exceptionally high and the comrade who was on 
guard over the pieces was nearly drowned. He was found next morning 
sitting on one of the limbers with the water hip deep all over the park. 

Comrade Sloan describes Folly Island as " a barren sand bar, with a 
few palmettos, live oaks and pines, the ocean on one side, and on the other 
a creek bordered by salt marsh, and separated from Morris Island by Light 
House Inlet, a small creek." 

When the Battery went into camp, the south bank of Light House 
Inlet was fortified with " Quaker Guns " made of palmetto logs painted 
black. From the opposite side of the inlet they looked like 30-pound 
parrots behind an enbankment three feet high. These dummies served as 
a bluff until real guns arrived and the Connecticut Battery was in position. 

The Confederates had built some bomb-proofs, which saved the Union- 
ists the trouble, and had also left intact an oven large enough to bake forty 
loaves of bread. 

At first the tents were merely pitched temporarily until instructions 
were received from Gen. Gillmore, but after two or three days Capt. Rock- 
well ordered the camp to be put in good shape. 

The camp was on the seaward side of the island, the pieces being parked 
on the beach, the horses picketed in a little valley nearer the swamp and the 
tents on a ridge between the two. The forge wagons were stationed near 
the bomb-proof. The camp was laid out in three streets, each section hav- 
ing one street, the officers' tents being near the right section. 

One of the first things to be done was the sinking of a well to provide 
men and horses with fresh water. The drivers were especially interested 
and all set to work to dig one large and deep enough for all wants. The 
well was nearly twenty feet in diameter, and although the diggers found 
water very soon they determined to dig still deeper so that there should be 
very little chance of failure. Towards night one of the comrades thought 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 271 

he would quench his thirst with the well-water. On dipping up a cupful he 
was very much astonished to find that the water was as salt as the ocean. 
They had worked all day for nothing. 

Comrade Marcus Hall says: "This experience in well-digging taught 
us that fairly good water could be obtained if we did not go too deep. A 
well about eight feet deep through pure white sand gave us three or four 
inches of water. Below that depth was astratum akin to hard mud, full of 
vegetable matter, such as decayed branches of trees, reeds, etc., besides 
numerous disgusting little insects. If we dug through this underlying 
stratum the water was salt. The volume of water could be readily increased 
by adding circumference, not depth, to the well." 

The hot weather made bathing a luxury. Some very amusing stories 
are told of the practical jokes played on the comrades. One time, Comrade 
Hethcote Landon dived under the water and suddenly grabbed Henry Grow 
by the leg, crying, "Shark" in as frightened a voice as possible. Comrade 
Grow started for the shore very quickly, very badly scared, and nothing 
would ever induce him to enter the water again. 

A large pine tree in the camp made an excellent look-out station and 
was easily climbed, for a smaller tree leaned against it, in which the 
comrades cut steps in the trunk. The sight from the top was entrancing. 
The blockading squadron could be easily seen from the camp, and on one 
occasion some of the comrades were in their tree observatory and saw the 
magazine of Fort Moultrie exploded by a shell. Comrade Sloan says that 
he saw above the smoke and dust raised by the explosion the body of a 
man and it seemed as though it would never stop ascending. 

The comrades watched the engineering work going on under Gen. 
Gillmore with interest. The Battery formed part of the reserve force and 
therefore felt that everything the Commanding General did was of more 
than passing importance. The comrades were men of intelligence and not 
mere machine soldiers, so every move was discussed and the problem of the 
siege of Charleston formed a daily topic of exceedingly interesting conver- 
sation. 

Gen. Gillmore had given orders that the position occupied by his right 
batteries on the i8th of July, and named Battery Reynolds, should be 



272 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

converted into a strong defensive line, capable of resisting a formidable 
sortie, and from that time it took the name of the '"first parallel." 

A row of inclined palisading, reaching entirely across Morris Island, 
was planted about two hundred yards in advance of this line with a return 
of fifty yards on the right. This return was well flanked by two guns on 
the right of the parallel. The parapet between the guns was constructed 
for infantry defence, a bomb-proof was constructed, and the armament of 
line modified and increased so that the parallel contained eight siege and 
field guns, ten siege mortars and three rifle batteries. 

It was quite a familiar sight for the comrades on Folly Island to watch 
the wagon-loads of gabions being carted up to the beach to be used in 
making the embankments of the batteries Gen. Gilhnore was constructing in 
the approach to Wagner. 

A second parallel was constructed about six hundred yards in advance 
of the first, upon a line running diagonally across Morris Island, in a 
direction northwest and southeast, by taking advantage of a narrow ridge 
which stretched across the island at that point and extended some distance 
into the marsh. 

The difficulty increased as the work was pushed forward, for the strip 
of land grew narrower and the men in the trenches were subjected to a 
cross fire from a battery on James Island and from sharpshooters in Fort 
Wagner. 

A dozen breaching batteries of enormous rifled guns were established, 
most of the work being done at night. 

Very few have, any idea of the difficulty that had to be overcome in the 
formation of the parallels by which eventually Fort Wagner was captured. 
The greatest credit is due to Major T. B. Brooks, who was intrusted with 
this work by Gen. Gilhnore. 

The work had to be executed at night, for the section across which 
the parallels were constructed was within range of the enemy's guns at all 
times. 

Major Brooks describes the engineering difficulties in the construction 
of the approaches against Wagner to be: 

First, the narrow front on which to conduct the operations, together with 
the scarcity of earth for covering- masses. In some places the earth was 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861-1865 273 

only three feet deep, and Major Brooks says that often an unpleasant 
feature connected with this scarcity of earth arose from the number of dead 
bodies found in all the advanced positions, particularly in the second 
parallel, and immediately in front of Wagner. The bodies were usually in 
coffins, but many soldiers, friend and foe, were wrapped in blankets only, 
and others not that. At first the engineers reburied the bodies in places 
away from the works where they would not be disturbed. But as the siege 
progressed, the scarcity of earth compelled a second, and even third, dis- 
interment on the same corpse. On an old map Morris Island is called 
"Coffin Land," owing to it having been the quarantine burying ground for 
the port of Charleston. 

The second difficulty was the heavy cross-fire from Wagner and 
Sumter, Battery Gregg and the James Island batteries, which, with the skill 
and obstinacy of the Confederate sharpshooter, made the work one of 
exceeding danger. 

The third was the difficulty of protecting the flanks of the parallel 
from being turned by sorties of the enemy. At each low tide the right 
flank was irreparably open. 

Encountering all these difficulties Major Brooks did not lose heart but 
obeyed every order cheerfully. To work in the dark was one of the 
greatest difficulties, and the way it was accomplished is well worthy of being 
recalled. The method adopted of setting the engineers at work was as 
follows: Each man held a short-handled shovel in his right hand; in the 
left, at intervals of six feet, each grasped a knotted rope. The engineer 
officer, who located the line, took the lead. The men marched forward, 
stooping. At a signal the rope was dropped, and each man went to digging 
a pit where he stood, throwing the earth over the rope. These pits were 
connected, and good cover was soon obtained. One man got assigned to a 
spot where the ground was as hard as a rock. The man used his spade, but 
made no impression, the perspiration poured from his face, for he was 
expecting every moment to be swept out of existence by a shell. After 
considerable time he was moved a foot farther up and made his hole as well 
as the rest. The men carried no arms. 

Night after night the work progressed until a most perfect system of 
parallels was established. During all the time the men were at work they 



274 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

were exposed to heavy fire and at times the work had to be suspended until 
another night. 

Another difficulty Major Brooks had to contend against was the 
objection to work manifested by the infantry privates. "I did not come to 
war to work, but to fight," was constantly heard by the officers, and some 
officers sympathized with the complaint. 

The officer in command would often cry out: "Cover, Johnson or 
Sumter," which would give sufficient warning for those in the trenches to 
seek partial shelter, if the shell was seen coming toward them, but "Cover, 
Wagner" could not be pronounced before the shell had exploded and done 
its work. Many curious stories are told by Major Brooks of the way the 
soldiers tried to protect themselves from heavy shells. On one occasion he 
saw a soldier place an empty pow^der barrel over his head as a protection, 
others would fall flat on their faces, imder the delusion that they were 
obtaining cover from mortar shells exploding over them, when in truth, 
their chances of being hit were much increased by this posture. 

While the work was progressing on the parallels, Gen. Gillmore wanted 
to establish a battery near enough to Charleston to bombard the city itself. 
After much reconnoitering a site was selected on the western side of the 
island and orders were issued for the erection of a battery. The officer, 
a West Pointer, to whom the duty was assigned, found that he had to con- 
tend against i6 feet of mud, and he shook his head — he thought it an impos- 
sible task. He was told that he could have anything necessary and to make 
requisition for everything essential to success. "You must not fail," was 
Gillmore's parting words to the officer. It may be that the officer looked 
upon the order as a joke, for he startled everyone when he made a formal 
requisition for " a hundred men eighteen feet high," and other things in the 
same ridiculous proportion. The jest may have been enjoyed by those to 
whom it was addressed, but the officer was removed and Col. Edward W. 
Serrell, a volunteer engineer, assigned to the duty. He drove piles into the 
mud and erected a platform on them, then he got 15,000 bags of sand and 
built a parapet. All this labor had to be done after dark, and it took 14 
nights to accomplish the task which the West Pointer had declared 
impossible. 

The battery consisted of a sand-bag epaulement supported by a grillage 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 



275 



composed of round timbers crossing each other at right angles, in two 
layers, and resting on the surface of the marsh. In this grillage, in 
rear of the epaulement, there was a rectangular opening large enough to 
receive the platform of the gun, and surrounded by sheathing piles which 
reached through the mud into the solid substratum of sand. Within this 
rectangular space layers of marsh grass, canvas and sand were placed, on 
which rested a closely fitting substratum of planks. On these planks the 
gun platform was placed. Col. Serrell had conceived the idea that the 
epaulement and gun should be entirely independent, so that the displace- 
ment of the one would not necessarily interfere with the other. 

Having got the platform ready the next difficulty was the transportation 
of the gun across the marsh. It was a work of the greatest trouble and 




SWAMP ANGEL 

annoyance, but eventually an 8-inch Parrot gun was dragged across the 
marsh and placed in position. Though known officially as the Marsh 
Battery the men named the gun the "Swamp Angel." 

When the gun was ready Gen. Gillmore gave the usual announcement 
of his intention to bombard the city, and requested the removal of non-com- 
batants. The Confederates declared that the bombardment was a violation 
of the laws of war and under that plea they selected from the prisoners fifty 
officers and placed them in the district reached by the shells. Capt. Willard 
Glazier, who has in recent years explored the Mississippi and solved the 



276 



HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 



vexed question of its head-waters, was one of the officers selected for that 
post of danger. He writes: " When the distant rumbhng of the 'Swamp 
Angel' was heard, and the cry 'Here it comes!' resounded through our 
prison house, there was a general stir. Sleepers sprang to their feet, the 
gloomy forgot their sorrows, conversation was hushed, and all started to see 
where the messenger would fall. At night we traced along the sky a slight 
stream of fire similar to the tail of a comet, and followed its course until 
'Whiz! whiz! ' came the little pieces from our mighty 200-pounder, scatter- 
ing themselves all around." The Unionists retaliated by placing an equal 
number of Confederate officers under fire, which caused the enemy to 
remove the Unionists. 




FORT SUMTER BEFORE THE BOMBARD.MENT. 



Comrade Wm. Fowler tells of a conversation he had with a customer of 
his in Charleston whom he called on a year after the war closed. 

"Were you in the war?" asked the Southerner. 
'Yes; Were you? " 

" I was; and I remember how elated we were when we placed a number 
of Union prisoners on the parapet of Sumter during the bombardment, we 
laughed over it and thought it was a good joke and said, now let the 
Yankees kill their own men if they want to. But when I was taken prisoner 
and placed in the trenches I did not see the fun at all, in fact, I thought 
it was rather tragical. " 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 



277 



The greatest consternation was caused in the streets of Charleston when 
the shells fell, but at the thirty-sixth discharge the " Swamp Angel " burst, 
and it was never replaced. 

The comrades waiting for instructions to march were roused from their 
slumbers on the early morning of August 17, when all the batteries on 
Morris Island opened fire on Fort Sumter. 

Sumter seemed impregnable, but Gillmore thought it must be reduced, 
because, while it was there strongly fortified, the navy could not co-operate 
in the attack on Charleston. 

Day and night the batteries poured tons of iron into Sumter. In a 
week its barbette guns were dismounted, its walls were knocked into a 




FORT SUMTER AFTER THE BOMBARDMENT. 



shapeless mass of ruins, and its value as anything but a rude cover for 
infantry was gone. Such a quantity of cannon balls and shells were poured 
into its debris as to form an almost solid mass of iron, practically impreg- 
nable. Sumter was never reduced by artillery fire, and did not fall into 
the hands of the Unionists until the capitulation of Charleston after 
Sherman's march to the sea. 

The Connecticut Battery did picket duty frequently, being called on to 
guard the causeway from Folly to James Island. Life was easy, and some 
of the comrades became very independent and almost disobedient. Comrade 
Alfred E. Leonard was detailed as orderly to Gen. Vogdes and became a 



278 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

favorite with the General. On one occasion, however, the pleasant relations 
were strained by Leonard being ordered to black the General's boots. The 

comrade promptly replied, ' 'Not by a d n sight. " Gen. Vogdes called out, 

" Where is my pistol ?" It is probable that summary punishment would 
have been inflicted on the comrade had the General been able to lay his 
hands on a weapon. The officer's anger cooled down, and Comrade 
Leonard was retained as orderly by Gen. Vogdes until the Battery left 
Folly Island. The General has often said that Leonard was the best 
orderly he ever had. 

Comrade Theron Upson received permission to visit Morris Island and 
inspect the batteries, a privilege which showed the high respect in which 
the comrade and the battery was held. He took a small boat and got two 
men to row him across Light House Inlet, a distance of half a mile, while 
his horse swam after the boat, its master holding the bridle. Comrade 
Upson was loud in his praises of the engineering skill displayed on Morris 
Island under the orders of Gen. Gillmore. 

Comrade Hart Landon recalls a little reminiscence of Folly Island 
which he often tells. 

"There was an alarm one dark, stormy night," he says, "that the 
enemy was coming. Order was given to hitch up and go out to Pawnee 
Landing. It was the very worst experience I ever had. We were in water 
over our shoe tops all night. An amusing incident occured while we were 
there. A Pennsylvania Dutch Regiment was in camp near our battery. 
They did trucking with a donkey and a two-wheel cart. Two Dutch 
comrades with the donkey and cart loaded with soft bread were returning 
from the bakery, along the valley between our camp on the ridge and the 
ocean. The tide was very high, flooding the valley with water to the depth 
of two or three feet. The donkey thought it would be a good time to take 
a bath, so he lay down in the water, and do what they would those Dutch- 
men could not make him get up, so they had to jettison the cargo to lighten 
the cart and tow donkey and cart to the high land." 

Those tides were difficult to contend against. Banks were thrown 
up round the guns and caissons to protect them. One night Comrade 
Bissell was Corporal of the Guard and he found that some one had punched 
holes in the protecting banks. The water flowed in, to a height of two feet. 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861-1865 279 

The Corporal was in a quandary, he did not know what to do. Capt. 
Rockwell shouted to him: 

"Keep back that water if you have to call out the whole company." 
Corporal Bissell saluted and answered : 

" I did not know I had authority to call out the whole company to dam 
the ocean." 

The fleas had been bad at Beaufort, worse at James Island, but neither 
place could compare with Folly Island. An hour after a comrade had 
wrapped his blanket round him, he would look as though he was breaking 
out with smallpox. His body would be covered with red bite-marks. When 
he imagined he had collected all the fleas, or his share of them, in the 
blanket, he would get up, take his blanket outside and shake it on the white 
sand. Instantly the sand would look like a mixture of coarse black pepper 
and sugar, the sand would be literally black with fleas; then the comrade 
would return to his tent to sleep. Alas, the fleas were there before him, 
grinning, if fleas can grin, to think of the little excursion they had made the 
comrade take, and all for nothing. The comrades would scratch and rub, 
their bodies were all on fire, life was a burden. They would roll in the sand, 
jump into the water, do anything to try and allay the irritation caused 
by these little pests. Some comrades who never used a profane word were 
heard to mutter a wish that all fleas were in the bottomless pit, and 
expressions would find a way out of the mouths of even the most religious 
which would have shocked them at any other time. To add to the misery 
at service on the Sunday the chaplain preached from the text : 

"The wicked flee when no man pursueth." 
And then there was a constant reminder that it was a Christian's duty to 
"Flee from the wrath to come." There seemed no escape from the 
terrible flea. 

The comrades having much leisure time it occurred to Capt. Rockwell 
that a good library would be a great acquisition. There was a very fair 
selection of books but most had been read, so the highly educated Captain, 
with a most laudable desire to make his command still more intelligent, 
suggested that a portion of the company funds should be devoted to the 
purchase of a library. 



280 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

At a dress parade, one day, Capt. Rockwell stepped to the front of his 
company so that all could hear him. After considerable hesitation, looking 
up and down the line, he commenced in a very deliberate manner: 

"I have decided to starve the stomach and feed the brain." 

Every comrade raised his eyes to the Captain. Each wondered what 
was meant and would have liked to ask his next comrade's opinion, but that, 
or even a glance, was against military rules. The Captain, after a very 
short pause, continued to descant on the advantages of education and 
suggested that a good library would be of the greatest benefit to the Battery. 

The expression "starve the stomach and feed the brain" struck some 
of the comrades comically, and they commenced rubbing their stomachs as 
soon as they broke ranks. It was evident by the way they felt their 
stomachs that they already considered them not overfed, and it was pretty 
hard to make them think that a fat brain would make them feel any better 
or more patriotic. It could not be realized that the Captain meant the 
expression to be taken literally, for he had always insisted that the company 
should have full rations and of a good quality. If the Battery did not draw 
the full amount to which it was entitled he insisted that credit was given, 
and from the surplus a company fund was accumulated, a fund used to buy 
vegetables and better food than were furnished by the Government. It may 
have been that the Captain imagined the comrades were growing fat and 
stupid and needed a little brain exercise. 

It was from this company fund that the Captain proposed to purchase 
a library, thus depending more on the Government rations and relinquishing 
some of the luxuries which had been purchased from the fund. 

"Our stomachs remained about the same," said a comrade later, "but 
I do not remember any better library or fatter brain." 

The Battery soon moved to Virginia, where the stirring events around 
Richmond, in which it took part, made the comrades forget all about 
starving stomachs and fat brains. 

Folly Island was an ideal place for fishermen, and as many of the 
Battery boys had been reared close to the water of the Sound they were 
natural born fishermen. 

"If we only had a net, a good old-fashioned Guilford net now," 
Comrade Marcus Hall soliloquized, as he stood looking out over the water. 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY. 1861-1865 281 

The very next day he wrote home to inquire the cost of ten rods of 
fishing net. He said nothing to the comrades, hoping to surprise them when 
he had his plan all ready for carrying out. 

Guilford was patriotic. The little town had sent more than its quota of 
men to the front. It had always been on the side of liberty, and its devotion 
to the flag was something which touched the heart, so when the comrade 
wrote home, the news spread that there was at least something the good 
people could do to show how much they admired the Boys in Blue. It did 
not take long for the people to raise enough money to purchase the very best 
fishing net that ever left the town, and it was soon on its way to the Battery. 

There is not a comrade but remembers the arrival of that fishing net. 
What joy there was in the camp! Everyone celebrated. 

It was not long after it arrived before the comrades made use of it. 
The big haul of fish proved acceptable, and the officers did not object 
to unite in helping to eat the fresh fish. It was a pleasant change. 
Comrade Marcus Hall sent two of the finest fish caught in the first haul 
to General Vogdes. 

Comrade Hotchkiss was providing good soft bread and the fishermen 
fresh fish, why should there not be rejoicing ? 

Just about that time General Vogdes had issued an order that there must 
be no cooking outside the cook-shed. Comrade Marcus Hall had just re- 
ceived his share of fish, and he fancied he would like to cook it for himself 
in his own way. He went behind a hummock with some pine knots, resolved 
on having a regular course dinner for once. He had a pail of lobscouse, 
made of desiccated potatoes and corned beef, and that, with broiled fish, 
made a good dinner. 

The fish was cooking as nicely as even a Delmonico chef could have 
wished, and the lobscouse was getting hot when the comrade heard the 
clang-clang of a sabre and looking up saw General Vogdes watching him. 

"Didn't your company get an order that no cooking should be 
done outside the cook shed ?" the General asked. 

"Yes, sir," Comrade Hall replied, rising and saluting, his mind 
filled with visions of punishment. 

"And you are breaking the order? " 



282 



HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 



"No sir," Comrade Hall replied, stirring- the lobscouse with a black 
iron spoon. 

"What do you mean?" 

"I am not cooking', but only warming up some lobscouse." 
The General smiled at the evasion but very sternly said: 
" Let me taste it." 

The comrade took a spoonful of the now boiling mixture and handed it 
to the General, who took the black spoon, and seeing- the contents were too 
hot, began to blow with all his might. Then he tasted it. 

"Ah' It is good, real good, now take care and don't put too much 
grease in it." 

"Thank you, sir. Did you get the fish I sent you yesterday?" 
Gen. Vogdes' eyes brightened, as he answered in the affirmative, 
looking as if he expected another mess soon. 

"Then, perhaps, you would like some more to-morrow?" 
"Indeed, I should." 
"All right, sir." 

The comrade escaped punishment and the 
General got a good mess of fish. 

Comrade Sloan, speaking of those days on 
Folly Island, writes: 

"We did some drilling, but, during the hot- 
test weather, simply took things easy, keeping 
the camp clean, and everything in good order. 
The commercial instinct showed in some of the 
boys, and they started making hop beer, which 
was sold for cash or credit, as they could. 

"In order to satisfy a grudge, some one put 
some vinegar in a barrel of beer owned by Rich- 
ardson and spoiled it. Leeds Brown and Gridley, 
two of the oldest members of the company, used to 
spend hours in arguing questions of religion or 
science, always before interested audiences. 
Beecher used to show his agility in turning a somersault from his feet and 
sparring with Geo. Stevens, and some of us received bruises in trying 
to learn the trick. 




HERBERT W. BEECHER, 

of New Haven. 
Served three months in 2d 
Connecticut Infantry, Companj' 
G.; enlisted ist Light Battery 
Nov. 29, '61; mustered in Dec. 6, 
'61; promoted Corporal May 25, 
1863; discharged Dec. 6, 1864; time 
expired. 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 



283 



" We had some alarms, and one night were called out about midnight, 
to repel a supposed attack at Whitehouse. Near us at that time were 
camped a New York regiment commanded by Col. Charles Van Wyck, 
and known as the ' Lost Infants.' They were ordered out at the same 
time, and the Colonel was running along the line, en dishabille, entreating 
the boys to get out, and as we left camp the last thing we heard was: 
' Fall in, boys, do fall in. ' 

" ' Colonel, we can't fall in till we get our bread and meat.' 

"There being- no fight, nothing was lost, but if there had been an 
attack there might have been trouble. 

" Some of the boys were very much troubled with fleas, and the ques- 
tion was raised as to which was in the majority, sand or fleas ? The ques- 
tion was never settled. The fleas troubled Comrade Hobart M. Dolph so 
much that he became sick. The guard, on going off duty each day, had 
target practice with their revolvers. One day. Comrade Jacob T. Guptil 
who was somewhat excited, pulled the trigger and the ball struck the 
sole of his shoe. One of the boys lost his revolver 
and great efforts were made to find out who 
was the thief. The company was assembled 
and the officers searched the effects of each 
man with great thoroughness, but no signs of 
the revolver. Some one was looking up the 
matter and finally foimd it on one of the officers' 
black servants. 

"The fresh fish we caught made a pleasant 
change in ihe bill of fare. We had at this time 
some barrels of pickled onions which came from 
the sanitary commission. The water on Folly 
Island was the vilest drink ever offered to human 
beings. The roots of the palmetto seemed to 
reach everywhere and the water in wells dug on 
the ridges was almost the color of red ink, and brackish ; even the horses 
would not drink it; so we dug wells on the beach, and there found a pure 
water, which, until the extra high tides came, was a great luxury. When 
the tides flooded the wells, we dug new ones, and so got along very well. 




JACOB T. GUPTIL, 
of Meriden. 
Enlisted Nov. 21, 1861; re-enlist- 
ed veteran Dec. 26, 1863 ; mus- 
tered out June II, 1865. 



284 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

Our ration of beans was often boiled, and many of the boys used to cook them 
down in frying pans, and so make a good substitute for baked beans; pork 
and beef we used to stew with hard bread, so as to get a change; but the 
coffee was always good. Plain as the fare was, the appetites of all hands 
were always good, and about meal times some hungry chap would get near 
the bugler's tent and shout out, 'Sound your A, Charles.' As cold weather 
approached, we built a meeting place. First we dug a large square hole 
about two feet deep, piling up the sand so as to make an embankment, and 
stuck branches in this to break the wind and keep the sand from blowing 
away. In the centre we built a fire, and on rude seats around this we 
listened to the stories and criticisms of the various wise members. No 
congress ever handled weighty questions of finance and politics with more 
wisdom than did the assemblies on Folly Island. One little incident which 
comes to my mind when on the Island: Jack Shaw had for an off horse a 
lean, lank animal that would eat anything — tobacco, meat or bread, all 
seemed to suit his taste. Once we had orders to march somewhere, were 
hitched up and three days' rations were issued, and were waiting the order 
forward. Shaw had hung his haversack on the inside of his nigh saddle, 
and his off horse, Lappy by name, reached over and cleaned out the haver- 
sack, leaving poor Shaw without any rations." 

The sandhills on Folly Island were full of rats; they burrowed under 
the cook's shanty, under bales of hay, reveled in the comforts of the tents 
and became almost as great a pest as the fleas. 

For a time Fanny, the Battery dog, had some excellent fun catching 
them, but even rats have intelligence and soon became too wary, hiding in 
their holes until they thought the dog was fast asleep. Some of the comrades 
enjoyed the sport of ratting and hit upon a novel plan to aid the sport. The 
rat holes were from the base to the summit of the ridge on which the camp 
was located, and the comrades would leave Fanny at the foot of the ridge 
and then pour pail after pail of water down the holes from the top. The 
rats, fearing drowning, would run out and the dog would be waiting at the 
other end of the hole. Sometimes as many as twenty or thirty rats would 
be scampering away from the deluge of water to be chased and fought by 
the valiant little dog. 

The order to have all the boxes from home examined and the forbidden 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1805 



285 



articles, such as wines and spirits, removed and handed over to the hospital 
authorities, annoyed the men, it being carried out with unnecessary 
stringency. Most of the comrades had sent home for "medical supplies," 
and they had no desire to have the treasures confiscated. By a little 
manoeuvring it was arranged that Comrade Albro, who was teamster, 
should manage to arrive at a place about a quarter of a mile from the camp 
about dusk. The comrades who were expecting boxes would meet him 
there, hurriedly open the boxes, take out the forbidden articles, close up 
the boxes and hurry back to camp arriving there a little before the 
teamster. With well-assumed innocence the 
comrades would watch the ofhcers open the 
boxes, and finding nothing contraband, the 
comrades received their treasures and had a 
laugh at the way they had outwitted the 
officers. 

On the 14th of October the Battery lost by 
death one of its non-commissioned officers. 
Comrade Jonathan G. Norton, of Guilford, 
passed awa}-, and on the following day was 
buried with military honors. Comrade Norton 
had often expressed a wish that he might see 
the end of the war, and be with his comrades 
when they returned to old Connecticut, but his 
wish was not fulfilled, and his body rested for a 
time among the sand hills of Folly Island. A 
head-board, neatly painted by one of his com- 
rades, marked the place where a much-loved member of the Battery was 
laid. As the comrades marched away from his new-made grave they thought: 

He sleeps so peacefully now, 
That we'll leave him to rest 
By our camp on the ridge. 

Yet never will come, 

To the loved ones at home, 
Who watch for him still, 

Our comrade who died. 

Comrade Norton's body was later disinterred and buried in the National 
Cemetery at Beaufort. 




JONATHAN G. NORTON, 

of Guilford. 

Enlisted Oct. 22, '61; mustered 
private Nov. 2, '61 ; promoted 
Corporal May 25, '63 ; died Folly 
Island, Oct. 14, '63. 



286 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

Early in November the Captain went north on a short furlough and 
Lieut. Metcalf was in command of the Battery. The Lieutenant was 
nervous, irritable, and of an uneven disposition, and not nearly as popular 
as the Captain. While in command he was especially severe on the com- 
rades, punishing for the slightest infraction of the rules and allowing no 
excuse, however good, to mitigate the punishment. One comrade was 
found sitting down while on guard duty. In vain he pleaded that he ought 
to have been in the hospital instead of on duty, for he was suffering from a 
stomach trouble; he was punished just the same. Tliose who had thought 
rather harshly of Capt. Rockwell began to count the days of his absence, 
and as each morning came a sigh of relief was given to think the time of his 
furlough was growing shorter. When Capt. Rockwell did return the com- 
rades gave him such a hearty welcome and vociferous cheering that must 
have made him feel proud, knowing that he had so endeared himself to 
them that he lived in their hearts. 

About the time the Captain went north the comrades were supplied 
with regular artillery jackets, having very conspicuous scarlet trimmings, 
which g£ve them a very smart appearance at inspection. 

The weather was getting very cold and the new tents were not provided 
with stoves. All sorts of expedients were resorted to. One comrade took 
an old camp kettle holding about ten gallons, cut a hole in the rim for 
draft, turned it upside down, cut a hole in the bottom for a smoke pipe, 
which he made by rudely fastening together some condensed milk cans, 
with the bottoms cut out, and so he had a stove complete. Another piled 
some sods up in a circle and built a fire in the centre, but the tent was so 
tilled with smoke that a comrade kicked the sods over and thus destroyed 
the stove. 

While on Folly Island the Battery received two new rifled guns to 
replace those lost in the Pon Pon River. They were of the latest pattern 
and much praised by the comrades. 

*'If only we can get a chance to use them," said Comrade McNary, as 
he stroked one of the guns much as he might a pet animal. 

"We shall make them siz, I'll bet," answered Comrade Wells. 

And as though the wishes of the comrades were to be respected the 
buele sounded : 




FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861-1865 287 

' ' Boots and Saddles 1 " 

All the troops in the brigade were ordered out and the excitement was 
intense. 

Gen. Gillmore had telegraphed Gen. Vogdes that an attack was expected 
along the whole line and that the Confederate General Beauregard intended 
_ making the battle a decisive one. 

"'s Capt. Rockwell was notified by letter as follows : 

"Capt. Alfred P. Rockwell, 

"First Connecticut Light Battery. 
"Captain: The Brigadier-General command- 
ing directs that you have the troops of your com- 
mand ready to move at a moment's notice during 
the night, as an attack is anticipated. 

" By order Brig.-Gfn. Wild: 

"S. L. McHenrv, 
"Captain and Assistant Adjutant-General." 
The same order w^as sent to Gen. Foster, Col. 
Alford, Col. Beecher and Capt. Hamilton. 

About midnight the centre section was sent 
down to Pawnee Landing, the other sections wait- 
ing at the camp. All night the rain descended in torrents, until it was doubt- 
ful whether anything would remain of the camp in the morning. One com- 
rade folded his arms and watched the water rising with complacency. 
"One thing is sure," he said, " this rain will kill the fleas." 
As the faint light fell on the rising water considerable fun was experi- 
enced by the comrades who were waiting the order to march, for every dark 
object found floating on the water was declared to be a flea, no matter 
whether it was as big as a sheep or so small that it was scarcely discernible. 
And every dead flea was a source of pleasure to the comrades. 

At noon the next day the order to imhitch was given and the comrades 
set to work to restore the camp to its former comfort. The alarm had been 
groundless, no enemy had attacked the forces on the island, and camp life 
was once more resumed. The high tides caused considerable trouble, but 
that was one thing the comrades expected and so had to make the best of it 
Thanksgiving saw the Battery depleted to 120 men, and the Commissary 



WILLIAM McNARY, 
of Manchester. 
Enlisted Oct. 23, 1861; mustered 
in Nov. 2, 1861; discharged Nov. 2, 
1864, time expired. 



288 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

Sergeant has left on record the requisition he made at that time for ten 
days' rations. It is interesting to recall, as it shows exactly what the Govern- 
ment supplied. The requisition called for 800 pounds salt beef; 450 pounds 
fresh beef; 100 pounds cofifee; 120 pounds rice and hominy; 180 pounds 
sugar; 3 bushels of beans; 2 barrels of potatoes; 15 pounds candles; then 
there was an extra ration of whiskey for men on picket, and the usual con- 
diments of salt and pepper. This did not include the officers, but was the 
requisition for the 120 men for ten days. 

The second Thanksgiving in South Carolina was spent on Folly Island, 
and each section proceeded to celebrate it in its own manner. Thus we 
hear of bread puddings with plenty of raisins, of roast beef, of beefsteaks 
and onions, roast potatoes, puddings of all kinds, pies and soup. Capt, 
Rockwell returned in time to lend his presence to the festivities, and he 
entered into the spirit of the day with good-natured zest. 

On the first of December the Confederates got a scare, thinking that 
they were to be attacked on all sides at once, because from every battery in 
the district a general salute was fired in honor of Grant's defeat of Gen. 
Bragg. The enemy answered by shelling every part of the district within 
range, making things exceedingly lively for a few hours. 

Gen. Aiken, of Connecticut, visited the camp early in December, to 
re-enlist such as desired for a term of three years or until the war was over. 
The State offered a good bounty, and the Government agreed to give a 
30-day furlough to all who re-enlisted. Some of the comrades figured out 
that the inducements were good, for they took pencil and paper and worked 
it out as follows : 



United States Boimty 


$402 


Connecticut State Bounty 


300 


Private's Pay (3 years) - 


468 


Clothing - . - . 


200 


Food - - . - 


300 


From State ($90 yearly) 


270 


Wife from State ($6 per month) 


216 



Total for three years - $2,156 

General Aiken addressed the comrades in a patriotic and earnest man- 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865. 289 

ner after which Capt. Rockwell, who was possessed of a blunt eloquence say- 
ing only just what was necessary without any elegancies of speech, told 
the men the advantages of re-enlisting. In the course of his remarks he said : 
"In the North trade is paralyzed! If you go there you cannot get anything 
to do! Yoi: will have to go to the poorhouse!" He concluded by saying: 
"Furthermore the War Department authorizes the wearing of a service 
stripe on the coat- wrist. " 

Captain Rockwell was an ardent patriot and a good conscientious officer, 
who always looked after the welfare of his men, and in his anxiety to have 
as many of his company as possible re-enlist, and his zeal for the cause, he 
did not stop to consider that the First Connecticut Light Battery did not 
enlist in order to be fed and clothed at the nation's expense, but they left 
good homes to help sustain and keep the nation itself out of the poorhouse 
at their expense. They had come from college, from office, the store, the 
farm, and workshops at the call of the President, had left their homes, their 
positions in society, and in business, not for a living, not for pay, but for 
their country. Those homes and positions were waiting for them when 
they should return, therefore the Captain's argument was misunderstood by 
some and resented by others. As a comrade, who had prepared to enter 
Harvard, but sacrificed his college course for his country, expressed him- 
self: "I for one resented it. He was addressing men who were mostly 
educated, intelligent citizens, as well able to take a commission as to fight 
in the ranks. If he were required to make that speech in the line of duty 
he did it very ungracefully ; if it were voluntary, it was conceived in bad 
taste and executed in a bungling manner." 

That all the comrades did not interpret the Captain's speech in the 
same way is evidenced by an extract from Comrade Hotchkiss' diary: "I 
think the inducements are great, and for a young man who has no family, I 
call the re-enlistment a good chance. Many can do as well in the army as 
at home." 

After the Captain's speech the stripe was nicknamed "Furthermore." 
which got to be so universal that the comrade whose duty it was to put the 
stripes on the jackets entered the Captain's tent and, saluting, asked if he 
should "put Furthermores" on a certain jacket. Captain Rockwell looked 
at the man with a puzzled expression on his face : 



290 



HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 



"Furthermore, furthermore, what do you mean?" 

The comrade colored redder than the facings on his jacket, and bhirted 



out: 



"I meant service stripe, sir." 

When Capt. Rockwell found out why the nickname had been 
given to the stripe, he laughed most heartily at it, and admitted that 
the laugh was on him. 

It was really ludicrous to hear the men conversing about re-enlistment 
for one could constantly hear the question asked: 
"Are you going to wear ' Furthermores?'" 

Sergt. Arthur E. Clark was one of the first to respond to the appeal 
made by the Captain and the State Agent, Gen. Aiken, and, amid the cheers 

of his comrades, he placed his name on the list of 
those who would serve the Government for three 
years longer, or until the end of the war. His ex- 
ample was quickly followed by other non-commis- 
sioned officers, and altogether forty-nine of the 
comrades decided to wear "Furthermores." The 
Captain was pleased and the State Agent grati- 
fied at the result of his visit. 

Late in December a very strange, amusing, 
and yet satirical, occurrence interested the Battery. 
Strange, because never had the comrades heard of 
such a proceeding; amusing for the reason that 
one of the highest honors of a government was to 
be awarded by a lottery scheme, and satirical be- 
cause every member of the Battery considered it 
a burlesque on rewards, a satire on the system 
which supposedly immortalized the brave and 
honored the courageous. 

Gen. Gillmore was so pleased with the action of the entire troops in his 
command on that memorable day when Fort Wagner was stormed, and the 
Connecticut Battery did such good service on James Island, that he ordered 
a medal to be struck, to be called the "Gillmore Medal," the said medal to 
be awarded to the three most courageous men in each company, one for the 




ARTHUR ]•:. CLARK, 
of Milford. 
Enlisted Oct i:;, 1861; mustered 
in Private Nov. 2, '61; Promoted 
Corporal July 11. 1862; Sergeant 
May 25, 1S63'; Re-enlisted Vet- 
eran Dec. 26, 186 j; Promoted ist 
Sergeant Sept 4, 1864; 2d Lieu- 
tenant Nov. 10, 1864; mustered 
out June II, 1865. 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 



291 



sergeants, another for the corporals, and the third for the private who 
had most distinguished himself. 

Three medals were sent to Capt. Rockwell for the Battery. How could 
he award them? Where every man did his duty and each man was a hero, 
how could he decide which three men were most deserving of such honor ? 
In a cavalry charge, or an assault by the infantry, it might be less difficult to 
notice three men, whose daring and persistent bravery placed them in the 
foremost rank of those deserving of honor, but in a battery where a man 
stood behind the gun, where each man, if he did his duty, was a hero equally 
with his fellows, no officer could, with justice, say that some were worthy of 
being singled out for special honor. In general orders the Battery had 
been congratulated for its bravery and good work, but all participated in 
such honors, and were equally proud of being mentioned. 










\ 




THE GILLMORE MEDAL. 



The medals were there, and as neither Capt. Rockwell nor his staff 
could say with truth which three were the bravest, the distribution was 
settled by each man drawing lots for the medals. 

The men laughed over the affair. A'ery few cared to receive a medal 
under such circumstances, but the drawing proceeded. Three names were 
drawn, and one of the comrades who had taken so little interest in the 
drawing that he had not attended was announced as one of those most 
worthv of honor. 



292 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

At the drawing for the non-commissioned officer's medal it fell to 
Corporal Beecher, but before he had time to realize that he had successfully 
gambled for a hero's medal, it was found that some names had been 
omitted. Some of the comrades who were in the hospital were entitled to 
be included, but they had been forgotten, so a new drawing was ordered 
and all names included. 

At the second drawing it so happened that it fell to Corporal J. F. Bliss, 
one of the most deserving and best gunners in the Battery, who, while on 
the particular occasion for which the medal was awarded, may not have 
been more exposed than his comrades, yet for his conspicuous bravery and 
service on Pon Pon River, while commanding a section worked by colored 
soldiers, wherein he was placed in a more responsible position, and was 
exposed to greater danger than any other non-commissioned officer in the 
Battery, fully deserved a special medal. 

In the second drawing for the private's medal the lot fell to Comrade 
Ralph Blodgett, The first time it had been drawn by Comrade Charles 
Hotchkiss. The comrade felt very sore about having to give up the medal, 
and shows in his diary why he thought he was deserving the honor, even if 
it were drawn by chance. "I feel a little sore," he wrote at the time, 
"that I got no acknowledgment for being, by a long way, the first man at 
the gun when we ran into the masked battery on the Pon Pon River 
expedition. It was not my gun either, but I got the rammer and went 
forward and worked alone for some time before a single person came to 
help me. The shots from the enemy's battery were flying about pretty 
lively, but such is life, and as soon as the steamer got around, and our gun 
could be brought to bear on the enemy, I again took the rammer, as Number 
One got nervous, and I acted in his place until we were oiit of range." 

The sergeant's medal was drawn by S. C. Dickinson. In this way the 
three Gillmore medals were awarded to the First Connecticut Light Battery. 
It was felt by those who drew them that the medals could not be looked upon 
as badges of individual bravery, but rather that the three fortunate ones were 
the trustees of the Battery, wearing an official insignia, which testified that 
the entire Battery was composed of men worthy of all honor. 

The destniction of Fort Sumter and the capture of Fort Wagner, giving 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861-1865 293 

as it did the control of Morris Island to the Union forces, naturally called 
for congratulatory orders. 

General Quincy Gillmore issued general orders, which were read to each 
regiment and company in his command. Speaking of the destruction of 
Sumter, he said: 

"It is with no ordinary feeling of gratification and pride that the 
Brigadier-General commanding is enabled to congratulate this army upon 
the signal success which has crowned the enterprise in which it has been 
engaged. Fort Sumter is destroyed. The scene where our country's flag 
suffered its first dishonor, you have made the theatre of one of its proudest 
triumphs. 

"The fort has been in the possession of the enemy for more than two 
years, has been his pride and boast, has been strengthened by every 
appliance known to military science, and has defied the assaults of the most 
powerful and gallant fleet the world ever saw. But it has yielded to your 
courage and patient labor. Its walls are now crumbled to ruins, its 
formidable batteries are silenced, and though a hostile flag still floats over it, 
the fort is a harmless and helpless wreck. 

"Forts Wagner and Gregg — works rendered memorable by their 
protracted resistance, and the sacrifice of life they have cost — have been 
wrested from the enemy by your persevering courage and skill, and the 
graves of your fallen comrades rescued from desecration and contumely. 

"You now hold in undisputed possession the whole of Morris Island, 
and the city and harbor of Charleston lie at the mercy of your artillery from 
the very spot where the first shot was fired at your country's flag, and the 
rebellion itself inaugurated. 

"To you — the officers and soldiers of this command — and to the gallant 
navy which has co-operated with you, are due the thanks of your com- 
mander and your country. You were called upon to encounter untold 
privations and dangers; to undergo unremitting and exhausting labors; to 
sustain severe and disheartening reverses. How nobly your patriotism and 
zeal have responded to the call, the results of the campaign will show, and 
your commanding General gratefully bears witness." 

While the First Connecticut Light Battery had not bombarded Sumter 
or Batteries Gregg and Wagner, yet the Battery had rendered efficient 



294 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

assistance on picket, and in holding Folly Island against any attack by the 
enemy. The Battery was always ready to march at a moment's notice, and 
the comrades were disappointed, when after hitching up, the order to 
unhitch was given. 

The year, 1863, closed with the war still in progress, and far from any 
chance of settlement Everyone had settled down to the conviction that 
the men of the South, fewer in numbers than those of the North, were yet 
stubborn foes, who would contest every inch of ground, and fight until a 
victory so clearly decisive, that none could question it, was won by either 
the Union or the Confederate forces. Compromise would not be considered ; 
it must be a war to the finish, and the Connecticut boys were just as earnest 
in their love for the flag as when two years before they had marched 
through New Haven amid the plaudits of the people. 

Recalling those last days of 1863 on Folly Island, Comrade Sloan says: 

"On the night of December 31, 1863, an alarm at White House Land- 
ing started us out — it rained and how it poured! — in some places the water 
was knee-deep, and before we arrived at the White House we were 
drenched. Soon after midnight it cleared, and the wind whistled from 
some icy quarter, and froze the puddles till the ice would bear one's weight. 
Some of us tried to light a fire to keep from freezing, but the infantry 
officers would put it out, for fear of drawing the enemy's fire; but after a 
time we succeeded in getting a good fire started, and enjoyed some comfort. 
I remember telling one officer that I would rather die by a bullet than freeze 
to death. 

"We had several reviews; and one time I was a driver of a team, the 
nigh horse of which was liable to blind staggers. Just as we were in open 
order for inspection, the horse showed symptoms of his infirmity, and 
although I worked the spurs for all they were worth, the horse went down. 
Capt. Rockwell came for me thoroughly mad, and would not take my word 
for the fact that I was not to blame, but Jerome satisfied him that the horse 
was the only thing to blame. 

"The months spent on Folly Island were the easiest of our services, 
but we soon learned that there was something beside having an easy time 
to a soldier's life." 



CHAPTER XIV. 



JOHN'S ISLAND. 





Td-i3^ 




>■ Xjf^t 


t vi/, Wat 


i«« 


p 


;!,!';J'i " '^" 



HEN the year 1864 opened the comrades had settled 
down to thebeUef that they were to be permanently 
located on Folly Island imtil Charleston was occupied 
by the Union troops. 

Forty-nine of the comrades had re-enlisted for a 
further term of three years or until the war was over, 
and in accordance with the promise of the Govern- 
ment, they were given thirty days' furlough, so that 
they might go North and see their friends. 

The month of January passed without anything happening to shake 
the belief of the comrades in a long stay on the Island. The operations in 
Charleston Harbor were continued slowly but persistently, and the Battery 
held itself in readiness to participate at any moment. 

Early in February the order reached Folly Island for General Vogdes 
and staff, with Foster's brigade, General Ames' brigade, the Colored brigade 
and Battery E., Third U. S. Artillery, to proceed at once to Jacksonville, 
Florida. 

It was generally believed that the Connecticut Battery would have 
accompanied the expedition had it not been weakened by so many being- 
absent on furlough. 

General Terry received an order on February 6, 1864, to send Brigadier- 
General Schimmelfennig, with a force of 3,000 or 4,000 men, to make an 
armed reconnoissance upon John's Island, in such a manner as to alarm the 
enemy for the safety of the railroad near Rantowles Bridge, and thus draw 
his attention away from the expedition to Florida. 



296 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

Brigadier-General A. Schimmelfennig was ordered to cross the Kiawah 
and Seabrook Islands, to make a demonstration. His force consisted of 
parts of the First and Second Brigades and Foster's brigade of Vogdes' 
division and six pieces of artillery. 

Orders were given for the right section of the First Connecticut Light 
Battery, under command of Lieutenant George Metcalf, to accompany the 
expedition. So many men were away on furlough, granted to those who had 
re-enlisted for a further three years, that it became necessary to detail a 
number of colored men as cannoneers. The white men were not at all 
anxious to have negroes as their comrades, and several tried to change places 
with those in the other sections. The order of the Confederate Government 
to treat all negroes who were captured while wearing the uniform of the 
United States as criminals, and consigning them to summary punish- 
ment, and the punishment by death of all white officers commanding 
or drilling colored men in the service of the United States had never been 
repealed, and no comrade liked to take the risk of being taken prisoner in 
the company of negroes. 

The order to the generals commanding the brigades was as follows: 
Headquarters U. S. Forces, 

Folly Island, S. C, February 7, 1864. 

The General commanding directs that you have your command at the 
wharf at the south end of Folly Island to-night at 9 p. m., prepared to join 
in an expedition, to be commanded by Brigadier-General Schimmelfennig. 

The men will be prepared with three days' rations, commencing to- 
morrow (the 8th, 9th, and loth instant), 40 rounds ammunition in cartridge 
box and 40 in knapsacks, their overcoats, blanket and rubber blanket, and 
an extra pair of socks. There will be with each 100 men three axes and 
three spades; an ambulance, stretchers, and stretcher-bearers will also be 
taken, also signal flags and lights, if they can be had. The horses and 
ambulance will be at the wharf at 8 p. m. On landing at Kiawah, a staff 
officer from General Schimmelfennig will conduct the command to its 
appointed place. Commanding officers of brigades and regiments will be 
responsible for all unnecessary noise. No fires will be kindled and no 
signals sounded until the enemy has been attacked. 

H. B. Scott, 
Captain and Assistant Adjutant -General. 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1S61—1865 297 

On the night of Monday the 8th, Februaiy 1864, General Schimmelfen- 
nig's force landed on Kiavvah Island, and forded the estuary between that 
and Seabrook Island, crossing from there at the Haiilover to John's 
Island. 

The Unionists were immediately met by a brisk fire from the Con- 
federate skirmishers, who had advanced from the woods and were charging 
over a rise of ground. They obtained possession of a line of hedge and 
ditch, but were speedily dislodged by the 157th New York Infantry, who 
drove them into the open field. 

General Ames' brigade having advanced over two wide fields, was 
checked upon entering the third field by a fire from the enemy's skirmishers, 
who were strongly entrenched. This was communicated to General Ames, 
who ordered a cessation of the advance, and afterward the withdrawal of 
the line. Just before the line was checked, parties were dispatched to search 
the buildings of a plantation near the river and destroy all arms found 
there. The line was withdrawn in good order. The 157th New York In- 
fantry was ordered to the rear, where it bivouacked behind the earthworks 
already alluded to, these works were at once strengthened, so as to form a 
ditch and parapet of considerable strength. 

General Beauregard looked with almost contempt on the force sent to 
John's Island for he had been informed that the regiments consisted of 
" raw recruits and drafted men." In a message sent to General Wise he 
said that such a force could be easily " ambuscaded by selecting a good 
position for that object, then by ostentatiously falling back with main body 
until proper point, when turn and attack front and flank." But before night 
on that same day he was telegraphing to hold trains in readiness to send 
troops to reinforce General Wise. 

The enemy sent large reinforcements to the Island taking all the 
available men from Meggett's and Young's Islands and from Adams' Run 
and Church Flats. 

The Union force moved up to the Bohicket road, near Dr. W. Jenkins' 
and about a mile from Haulover. The enemy had about 550 infantry and 
200 cavalry and two light batteries, the Marion and Charles. 

The Union Infantry deployed in a heavy forest, on a line with the 
enemy's left, while the section of the Connecticut Battery shel]ed the 



298 



HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 



enemy's right, while four pieces of another battery were in front. The 
enemy was driven back to a triangle in the roads called the Cocked Hat. 

The enemy sent back to Adams' Run for reinforcements which arrived 
in a few hours. AH day Tuesday the fighting continued, the enemy being 
driven back some three miles, only to rally, and with the aid of newly 
arrived troops, reoccupy the ground driving back the Union force to nearly 
the point from which it had started. 

The enemy's sharpshooters were strongly entrenched and kept up a 
brisk fire, while a regiment which had just arrived attacked the Union 
force until late in the night, capturing four prisoners, but being unable to 
force the Unionists back, the enemy withdrew. 

On the loth several light skirmishes took place, but no material advan- 
tage was gained by either side. 

On the morning of the nth the Union force 
advanced along the Bohicket and Mullet Hall 
roads, and rapidly to the place known as the 
Cocked Hat. The enemy had his right on the 
Bohicket river, across the Bohicket road, and his 
left across the open field, on a ditch back to the 
woods on the left, and through them to the 
Legareville road. 

Comrade Andrew Nolan, speaking of his ex- 
perience on John's Island, says that the roads over 
which they marched were composed of soft sand, 
in places so deep that the horses sank in it iip to 
their bellies. At times quicksand would be met 
with, and a horse would suddenly sink down to 
such a depth that it was with difficulty that he 
could be rescued. On one occasion a gun dropped 
into one of the quicksand holes up to the axle. The infantry had to cross 
small streamsby wading, in some instancesup to their waists in water ; many 
of the men took off their shoes and the sand adhered to their wet feet, so that 
when they put their shoes on again the sand cut the feet like glass. The 
troops were not allowed to delay long enough to dry their feet, so in resum- 
ing the march the dry sand would fly up and, sticking to their ankles, work 




ANDREW NOLAN, 
of Milford. 
Enlisted and mustered in Dec 
2, 1861 ; discharged Dec. 2, 1864 
time expired. 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861-1865 



301 



down into their shoes, causing them to suffer tortures as they marched. 
The enemy opened fire from the Marion battery at about 1,200 yards' 
distance, and the Connecticut Battery, being- in a good position, concealed 
by a hedgerow, replied with vigor, silencing, for a time, the enemy's guns. 
The enemy brought up another light battery and the artillery duel became 
lively, the Marion battery being effectually silenced. The firing ceased at 
5 p. m. , having lasted with scarcely any cessation for nearly two hours. In 
good order the Union force retired in the direction of Haulover. 

While this skirmishing was going on, General Beauregard determined 
to make a diversion in favor of the Confederate General Wise, ordering all 
the harbor batteries bearing on Morris Island to open vigorously for one 
and a half hours at two o'clock on the morning of July nth, as though 
preceding an attack in force with infantry. 

Almost every hour artillery duels were fought and the right section 
fired away all its ammunition, except canister. Comrade Andrew Holbrook 

describes the duel between the enemy and the 
section of the Battery on the afternoon of the 
eleventh, as being one of the severest the Battery 
had been in up to that time. Comrade Holbrook 
says that he was in the saddle two whole nights 
during that expedition, and he was not at all 
sorry when Folly Island was again reached. 

On the morning of the 12th, the Union gun- 
boats began to shell the woods heavily, to cover 
the withdrawal of the force. The enemy gallantly 
pushed forward, but the fire was too heavy and 
the risk too great, so the Unionists were able to 
cross the Haulover bridge, which they destroyed, 
as well as a number of houses, which they burned, 
in order to obstruct the road. 

While on the Island a book was found con- 
taining copies of messages that had been transmitted over the line between 
Hilton Head and Folly Island. The messages had been read by a man 
at the Botany Bay station belonging to the Confederate signal corps. 
Immediately this discovery was made a number of false messages were 




ANDREW HOLBROOK, 
of Seymour. 
Enlisted and mustered in Dec. 
2, 1861 ; discharged Dec. 2, 1864; 
time expired. 



302 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

transmitted through to Botany Bay Station in order to mislead the 
enemy, if any there should be able to read them. 

The Union losses in the skirmishes were 15 killed, wounded and missing-, 
the section of the Connecticut Battery escaping without any casualty. 

On the evening of the 12th, the section was welcomed back to Folly 
Island by the comrades, who had been very anxious about those who had 
been engaged in active service, and for days were highly entertained listen- 
ing to the stories the comrades told about the march, the country, what they 
saw and did, and description of the hardships endured and the enemy they 
encountered. Many were the stories they told of the eccentric Gen. 
Schimmelfennig, who spoke very broken English, and was often misunder- 
stood. He became especially exasperated when the men would dodge their 
heads as they heard the whiz of the bullets. He knew, and so did they, 
that it was too late to dodge then, but he lectured them and called them 
fools, asking in angry tones: 

"What for you dodge, you fools ?" 

Camp life was resumed, the sea had to be fought, for at times it ap- 
peared as though the ocean was conspiring with the Confederates to drive 
the Union soldiers from the peculiar island with its appropriate name, for 
as a comrade said, " It did look like a piece of /o/ly to try to live on such 
an island. " General Beauregard is reported to have said that he would 
" give every Yankee soldier a piece of real estate six feet by two on Folly 
Island, the fittest place for them to stay, unless the sea washed them away 
before he could get to them." 

It was certainly remarkable that anyone could live on the Island, for the 
water was so brackish that it was almost undrinkable, causing dysentery 
and diarrhoea among the men to an alarming extent. There was one ad- 
vantage, the comrades were able to get a greater variety of food than ever 
before. We find in the commissary report such things as mixed vegetables 
pressed into cakes, which made excellent soup when boiled with the beef, 
dried apples, hominy, pickles, rice, tea as well as coffee, molasses and other 
things, which were bought out of the company fund. Then on one day we 
hear of a catch of 75 pounds of fine fish, one channel bass, weighing eleven 
and a half pounds. Clams were plentiful; some found them too plentiful, 



^.-^ 



w 



] ^' 



^ 



N 




^ 



^ 



^£ 





FIUST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 305 

for comrades Durgin and Hotchkiss had to go to the doctor to ask him to 
counteract the effects of too much clam pie. 

The camp was overhauled and laid out on a different plan, the commis- 
sary shanty was re-roofed and the side walls made watertight, though noth- 
ing made them mouse and rat proof. With a feeling of pride the comrades 
pointed out the great improvements made in the camp when the rain began 
to fall, heavy gales to blow and old Neptune was lashed into a fury, the 
high tides rose above the level of the park, and guns, caissons and every- 
thing had to be moved out of the way of the salt water. 

Comrade Arthur E. Clarke, on his return from his thirty days' furlough, 
brought many messages from home for his comrades, and he tells, in his 
diary, how joyfully they were received. He found, however, that during 
his absence his tent had been burned to the ground. He says: " vSome of 
my boys had built a fire in the fireplace a few nights previous to our arrival; 
unknown to them the jamb caught fire, and about three o'clock in the morn- 
ing communicated it to the tent. I lost only a few towels; the rest of my 
clothing and the furniture was saved by the heroic action of the ' fire 
department.' Captain Rockwell kindly furnished me with a new tent, 
which I pitched on the old site. I do not like it quite as well as the old one, 
because it is made of linen, which will not shed the rain first rate. I found 
our camp very much improved. We have comfortable stables covered with 
slabs for the horses, fourteen of our horses have gone to Florida, Col. 
Henry took them for his men. The expedition to that State has proved 
rather disastrous." 

During this time the heavy thunder of the guns continued, and Charles- 
ton was constantly bombarded. 

As the shells, loaded with Greek fire, fell into the streets, and exploded, 
the people ran screaming through the streets, finding cover in cellars, in the 
most out-of-the-way places, even running to the cemeteries and crouching 
behind the grave stones. The Magnolia Cemetery at Charleston, one of 
the most picturesque and beautiful cemeteries in the South, with its fine 
monuments and grave stones, was daily peopled with the timid who felt 
safer in the world of the dead than in the streets of the city. Many of the 
buildings were riddled with shot and, the church steeples were excellent 
marks for the shells. 



306 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

When the people saw that but little damage, comparatively, was done 
by the shells they grew bolder and even watched for the flying missiles. 
Before the year 1864 was three months old, the Charleston Courier, said: 
'' The damage being done is extraordinarily small in comparison with the 
number of shot and weight of metal fired. The whizzing of shells over- 
head has become a matter of so little interest as to excite scarcely any atten- 
tion from the passers by." 

A correspondent writing from Morris Island in February 1864, speaking 
of the flight of shells in the bombardment of Charleston said: "At night we 
can see the path of a shell through its journey lighted as it is by a burning 
fuse. When the range is two miles, the track of a shell from a mortar de- 
scribes very nearly half the arc of a circle. On leaving the mortar, it grace- 
fully moves on, climbing up and up into the heavens, till it is nearly or 
quite a mile above the earth, and then it glides along for a moment, appar- 
ently in a horizontal line; but quickly you see that the little fiery orb is on 
the home stretch, describing the other segment of the circle. 

"A shell from a Parrot rifle-gun, in going two and a half miles, deviates 
from a straight line not quite so much as a shell from a mortar. But in 
passing over this space, considerable time is required. The report travels 
much faster than the shot. A shell from a mortar makes the distance of 
two miles in about thirty seconds, and from a Parrot gun in about half that 
time. The flash of a gun at night, and the white smoke by day, indicate 
the moment of discharge, and fifteen or twenty seconds give an abundance 
of time to find a cover in a splinter proof, behind a trench, or something 
else. It is wise and soldierly to do so, but many pay no attention to these 
hissing, screaming, flying, in the day-time invisible devils, except to crack 
jokes at their expense, and occasionally one pays with his life for this fool- 
hardiness." 

A contraband related his experience in dodging shells on the battlefield 
as follows: "Ye see, massa, I was drivin' an ambulance when a musket 
ball come an' kill my horse; and den, mighty soon, a shell come along an 
he blow de wagon all to pieces — aft' den I got off!'' 

On one occasion during the stay of the Battery on Folly Island Com- 
rade Joseph Fowler was detailed as orderly to General Vogdes. The 
General had just landed from some point or expedition where food had been 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861-1865 



309 



a rather scarce commodity, and even generals are human enough to be 
hungry at times. A quantity of sausages looked so tempting that the 
(ieneraVs mouth watered, but he could not think of any way of carryn.g them 
home He looked longingly, and the longer he looked the more temptmg 
the sausages appeared. Then he asked the sutler if he could not urn.sh a 
feed bag in which he could carry the sausages. The sutler sm.led and at 
once produced one. The sausages were weighed and put in the bag, which 

the orderly, Comrade Fowler, then 
fastened behind his saddle. The General 
started up the beach, followed by the 
orderly on a brisk gallop, but they had 
not gone more than a mile or two before 
FovJler thought of the bag of sausages 
and put his hand behind to feel if it were 
all right. There seemed something 
wrong! The bag did not feel as full as 
when he started. It might be imagina- 
tion, but then suppose it were not ? The 
orderly looked back and saw the sausages 
trailing along the beach. The bag had 
burst open, letting the sausages out link 
by link, until they had the appearance 
of a rope beincv dragoed over the sand and dirt. Comrade Fowler looked 

:: JL Oe;erai:;d saw that he was riding ^^^^ -' ^^J^^^ 

1 1 „,,i;t-,r>- in the sausao-es hand over hand, as 
back The orderlv commenced hauling m tne sausa^t; . ,. , . 

Tsailor hauls in a'rope, until they we.e al, gathered once n,ore .n the b 

aU covered with sand. When the General arrived at the can,p Fowler 

Ided the sausages to the coo. without -PjaU^™. annh.t^- a o e 

accident When General Vogdes dismissed Fowler he asked h,s name 
Saltn n' Fowler gave it. and said he belonged to the Connecticut Ugl t 
Batt ;■ " You have done so very well. I may want yon aga.n sometune 
U,e General said as he entered his tent. Fowler not having explained abc. t 
d ageing the sausages along the beach for a mile or so, felt -^ ---*-'- 
ab e and was mortally afraid that when the Genera, discovered ,t he would 

e^ for him again, and the meeting might not be as pleasant as the parttng 




ORDEKLV, 



1,_ 



310 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

The comrade on his return to the camp said that he wished the General 
had not asked for his name. For a few days he lived in mortal fear of 
being sent for, but he never heard anything more about the incident, for 
which he was truly grateful. 

General Vogdes was a very nervous man. He had been captured at 
Harper's Ferry, and the experience was so very unpleasant that he was 
always afraid of being again in the clutches of the enemy. In order to pre- 
vent such a catastrophe he kept an unusually strong picket guard out at 
night. The Battery came in for its share of extra service in that line. The 
General was evidently determined not to get another dose of prison life if 
doubling the guard could prevent it. It was said that during the excite- 
ment and confusion among the Unionists, when the Confederates captured 
Harper's Ferry, some one ran away with the General's horse, and, in the 
hasty retreat, he was forced to ride a mule. The mule was orderly and 
easily managed while going through the town, but when it got into the 
country where grass was growing, the animal lost all its reverence for the 
proud officer on its back and stopped to feed. General Vogdes used all his 
persuasive power in trying to get the mule to move — he kicked, driving the 
spurs into the animal's side ; he coaxed and talked, but with no other result 
than making the mule retaliate by kicking backwards instead of moving 
forward and the General, was overtaken by the Confederates and captured. 
The officer never liked the look of a mule after that experience. 

One of the pleasantest features of camp life on Folly Island was the 
Debating Society. Comrade Edgar Davis was elected President, and most 
excellently did he perform the duties. The subjects discussed were of the 
widest range, and the members showed that they possessed not only logical 
minds, but the gift of eloquence in a very marked degree. Comrades Upson, 
Griswold and Sloan were very active in assisting the President in keeping 
up the interest in the Society, while many other comrades showed their 
appreciation by taking part in the debates and starting new subjects. The 
conduct of the war, as well as the issues likely to arise out of it, were 
prominent topics, but art, science, literature and politics were subjects not 
neglected. The debates were sometimes held in the open air, but mostly in 
the Chapel tent, imtil it was destroyed early in February, 1864. 

The last meeting of the Debating Society, held in the chapel tent, was a 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 311 

warm one. The old subject, "Which was the greater evil, Slavery or 
Intemperance?" was debated; Comrade Marcus Hall opening by maintain- 
ing- that slavery was the greater evil, while Comrade Edward Griswold took 
the opposite side, arguing that intemperance was the greatest bane of the 
country. Comrade Hall was eloquent, as all New Englanders were, on the 
question of slavery, and his well-rounded sentences and logical arguments 
were received with many outbursts of enthusiasm. Comrade Griswold 
worked on the feelings of the audience by portraying the evils of intemper- 
ance. He drew a vivid and realistic picture of the drunkard's home, telling 
of the patient wife waiting with anxiety the return of the one who had 
promised to love and honor and respect her, he described the Bacchanalian 
songs, the brutal treatment with which the wife's devotion was repaid, the 
famished children and all the suffering to be found in a drunkard's home. 
The tears came into the eyes of many, audible sobs could be heard, for the 
comrades were moved to the extreme by Comrade Griswold's word painting, 
when one of the comrades, who had been familiar with such scenes in his 
early life, interrupted the speaker angrily, believing that Comrade Griswold 
was picturing his own life and home and family. In vain the eloquent 
speaker declared that he was drawing an impersonal picture, and that he had 
not once thought of the comrade, but the interrupter refused to credit the 
statement, and the debate closed at once rather than allow what might have 
been an unhappy termination. It was regretted by all the comrades, for the 
debates had been the means of providing considerable instruction and 
pleasure to those who attended. 

On the last day of 1863 the comrades were gladdened by the receipt of 
a large consignment of good things from the citizens of Guilford. There 
were no less than eighteen barrels of vegetables, and as many boxes filled 
with all sorts of dainties and necessaries, which would remind the comrades 
of their homes in old Connecticut. The people of Guilford seemed never 
tired of doing nice things for the Battery, and while all parts of the State 
rejoiced in the work the comrades were doing, yet it had to be admitted 
that Guilford was to the front when any practical work of sympathy was on 
hand. Some of the blankets which had been sent by the Ladies' Aid 
Society of Guilford to the Battery, when in camp at Beaufort, had not been 



312 HISTORY AND REMIXISEXCES. 

used, and these were awarded as prizes for the best revolver shooting while 
on Folly Island. 

On April 12th Captain Rockwell started on a short vacation, but when 
he reached Hilton Head he was ordered back, his leave of absence counter- 
manded, and orders given to have the Battery in readiness to move at an 
hour's notice. The Captain returned the following day to the Island, and 
on the same day there arrived at the headquarters of the General command- 
ing, Special Order No. 154, which ordered the First Connecticut Light 
Battery to report at Hilton Head with its camp and garrison equipage. A 
few days later the Battery knew that it was to go to Virginia to join the 
Army of the James, General Terry receiving Special order 163: 

"Brig.-Gen. A. H. Terry, U. vS. A'olunteers, is hereby relieved from 
command of the Northern District, and will proceed to Fort Monroe and 
report to Major General B. F. Butler, commanding the Department of 
Virginia and North Carolina, for the purpose of organizing the troops be- 
longing to the Tenth Army Corps. He will ascertain the wants of the 
troops, and make such requisitions as may be necessary to supply them." 

On that same day orders were given to prepare ten days' cooked rations 
for the Battery, and on the afternoon of July 18, 1864 General Schimmel- 
fennig reported : 

"The First Connecticut Light Battery has embarked, and is about to 
sail direct for Fort IMonroe ; verbal instructions were given to Captain 
Rockwell by General Terry before he left here." 

The Camp at Folly Island, where the Battery had spent nine easy 
months, was broken, and real war with all its dangers and horrors was to be 
engaged in by those comrades who had read much but seen little of its ac- 
tualities while stationed on the Island. 



CHAPTER XV. 



THE CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION. 



r 



MU 




In the Battery were many who were good and earnest Christians, and 
they felt, even more than others, the responsibilities 
resting upon the defenders of the flag. 

"War is hell," said General Sherman at the 
close of the war, and at its very commencement the 
^jqM professing Christians realized that only by constant 

^^hB^^^^ vigilance and unceasing prayer could the soldiers 

j ^^^^^^^^^^^ resist the temptations which would beset them. 
lhHHHHHHHBI In the month of June, 1863, the members of 

the Battery had proved that 
their predilections were 
correct and some among 
them proposed the forma- 
tion of a religious society. 
A meeting was held at Beaufort and the 
following preamble and resolutions were adopted, 
which we transcribe verbatim from the secretary's 
minute book : 

Whereas, the undersigned members of the 
First Light Battery, Connecticut Volunteers, 
having left our homes and many religious privi- 
leges to come here to battle in defence of our 
Country's rights, feel it not only our duty to do 
what we can in defence of our country, but to 
sustain its principles and follow the teachings of 
our forefathers, and above all that, as those who profess to be the 



CHARLES A. HOTCHKISS, 
of New Haven. 
Mustered Musician Oct 26, 
1861. Re-enlisted Dec. 26, '63. 
Promoted Corporal Nov. 7, 
1864 Mustered out June 11, 
1865. Secretary of the Chris- 
tian Association during its 
entire existence. 




EDGAR G. DAVIS, 
of Guilford. 
Enlisted Oct. 26, '61; mustered 
in Nov. 2, '61. Discharged Nov. 
2, '64; time expired. First Presi- 
dent of the Religious Associ- 
ation, President of the Debating 
Society. 



314 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

followers of Jesus Christ, and desiring- to see his cause prosper, and 
the salvation of souls around us; also having been presented by our friends 
at home with a chapel tent, in which we can worship God according to our 
own free will: 

Therefore it becomes us as Christians to use and improve these privi- 
leges, that we may advance our spiritual and eternal welfare, and also the 
spiritual condition of our fellow soldiers around us that they may be brought 
to Christ, and to do this it is expedient that we organize ourselves into a 
society that by so laboring with united hearts and hands we may the better 
promote the cause of Our Blessed Master here in our midst: 

Be it Resolved, ist. That we, the undersigned members of the First 
Connecticut Light Battery, do hereby organize ourselves into a society that 
we may the better promote the cause of Christ in our midst. 

2d. That we will endeavor to live as Christ would have us live, ever 
showing forth to our unconverted associates that love which Our Savior 
manifested toward us, and that we may by our living testify to them that 
there is a reality in the religion of Jesus Christ, and by our words and actions 
seek to induce them to unite with us in the service of Our Blessed Master. 

3d. That we will do what lies in our power to discountenance and dis- 
courage the use of profane and vulgar language in our company and encour- 
age the use of only such as would be used in refined and virtuous society at 
home. 

4th. That we be joined together in the bonds of Christian love and fel- 
lowship, that we work with united hearts and hands in the service of the 
Redeemer and encourage each other to live faithful, devoted and Christian 
lives. 



BY-LAWS. 
Section i. 
Article i. That the officers of this society shall consist of a President, 
Secretary, Treasurer, Assistant Secretary and a Committee of three 
members. 

Article 2. That the officers shall be chosen by ballot, quarterly. 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861-1863 315 

Article 3. To become a member of this society and have a voice in its 
business affairs, each person shall read these resolutions and sign his name 
to them. 

Article 4. That the tent which has been given us for a chapel tent 
shall be used for religious and literary purposes only, except in extreme cases 
and when necessity requires it, for the wounded, etc., and then only by the 
consent of the committee. 

Section 2. 

Article i. It shall be the duty of the President to preside at all business 
meetings. 

Article 2. It shall be the duty of the Secretary to record all business 
meetings, their time and place of holding, also the religious meetings, by 
whom conducted and what transpired of interest, and to keep a correct 
account of conversions. 

Article 3. It shall be the duty of the Assistant Secretary to assist the 
Secretary when needed, and when that officer is absent, to act in his place, 
also to act as Librarian, keeping a correct account of all books, given out or 
received. 

Article 4. It shall be the duty of the Treasurer to keep a correct account 
of all funds of the society and take charge of all cash on hand. 

Article 5. It shall be the duty of the committee to see that the tent has 
proper care, that it is lighted during all meetings; to appoint meetings, both 
religious and business; to provide chaplains or others to conduct religious 
meetings, and to see that the tent is used for its legitimate purposes, as pro- 
vided in Sec. i, Art. 4; to transact all business necessary to be done, and not 
coming within the duties of the officers of the society ; and to call on the 
Treasurer for all funds necessary for lights, repairs, etc. 

Article 6. That all funds necessary and requisite for the society shall 
be raised by contribution. 

Article 7. That all books received into the library shall be selected by 
the committee, and should the funds permit, the committee can draw on the 
Treasurer for payment for said books. 






„,^^ 










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'^;3t'£^^-<^ 







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T,!?^, 



6iy^^/^//^^, 








FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861-1865 



317 



r^^a.7<^ ^ .^u^Ajlj 



*/» JKJ^^<9-Z»-e-c^ 





Through the courtesy and kindness of 
the widow of our dear comrade, Charles 
A. Hotchkiss, we are enabled to give a 
photographic fac-simile of the page of the 
Secretary's Minute Book, showing the sig- 
natures of the comrades who recorded 
their names as members of the religious 
association. 



On the r2th of June the society organized and elected the following as 
officers to serve three months: 
President — Edgar G. Davis. 
Secretary — Charles A. Hotchkiss. 

Assistant Secretary and Librarian — Warren H. Bissell. 
Committee— Hethcote G. Landon, Edward Griswold, John E. Albro. 
Treasurer — Ebenezer Wakelev. 

Some religious books had already been purchased and paid for out of the 
funds of the society, and it was thought advisable and prudent to hand them 
over to the Company library which had just been established for the benefit 
of the Battery. 

The chapel tent was one of the best that could be procured and had 
been purchased and sent out by the patriotic people of Guilford. A vote of 
thanks was sent by the society to the donors. 

During the first quarter religious meetings were held, services con- 
ducted on Sundays and prayer meetings during the week, presided over and 
conducted by members of the society. Comrades Davis, Griswold and 
Hotchkiss being especially active. 

The second quarterly meeting was held October 8, 1863, at the camp 
on Folly Island, with Comrade Edward Griswold in the chair, the President 
and Treasurer being both sick. After adopting a resolution in favor of 
election by plurality, the society elected officers : 

President — Edward Griswold. 

Secretary — C. A. Hotchkiss. 

Assistant Secretary— W. H. Bissell. 

Treasitrer — E. Wakeley. 

Committee— A. E. Clark, J. E. Albro, H. G. Landon. 



318 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

The Treasurer reported receipts during the quarter $12.50, and 
expenses $8.65, leaving- a balance in hand of $3.85. 

The Secretary's minute book, kindly placed at the disposal of the 
Editor by his widow, shows that there were times when camp duties 
and terrible storms prevented meetings being held, but with these excep- 
tions the society proved itself faithful, and at services and prayer meetings 
Comrades Hotchkiss, Griswold, Landon, Henry C. Gillette, Edward Norton, 
Loomis, Albro, McLean, Davis, Sikes, Wakeley and Upson, took an active 
part either in leading in the prayers or reading sermons. Sometimes a 
chaplain was obtained, and then a good rousing service was held. 

Capt. Rockwell frequently read the Episcopal service in the tent, and 
one of the comrades would read a sermon by Henry Ward Beecher, Charles 
H. Spurgeon, or other well-known divine. The Christian Commission 
conducted the services several times and renewed earnestness resulted. 
Three prayer meetings were held each week, and two, and sometimes three 
services on Sunday. 

At the third quarterly meeting there were some changes made in 
the officers, John T. Sloan becoming Assistant Secretary, the committee 
being John Loomis, Jacob T. Guptil, and Hart Landon. 

Mr. J. R. Bacon gladdened the hearts of the members by sending a 
handsome Bible and Book of Psalms, enclosed in a black walnut case, which 
proved a very acceptable present, not only because of its intrinsic value and 
usefulness, but because it was from him that the inspiration came to organize 
the association. 

Mr. Bacon, a city missionar}' from Five Points, New York, and a native 
of Connecticut, was spending some time in Beaufort for the benefit of his 
health. Being an indefatigable worker for the cause of Christianity, he was 
grieved to see the lax manner in which the chaplains fulfilled their duties. 
He threw himself heart and soul into the work, visiting the hospitals daily, 
going into the camp and talking with the soldiers, opening up the local 
churches which had been closed when the Union troops entered the city; 
reading sermons when he was unable to secure the services of an ordained 
clergyman ; holding evening services in the largest church in the city, and 
leading 2,000 soldier voices in Gospel song. All these things endeared him 
to the hearts of the comrades, and a revival of religious thought and feeling 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861-1865 319 

was brought about. The religious work inaugurated by Mr. Bacon spread 
throughout the department, and many of the comrades of the Battery took 
an active part in the services. 

On Sunday February 7th, 1864, one section of the Battery was sent to 
John's Island, on an expedition of great danger, sixteen of the Battery and a 
corresponding number of negro soldiers going to man the pieces. The 
members did not forget to pray for their absent comrades, and a meeting of 
praise was held on the following Friday when the section returned with all 
hands safe, though all much fatigued. Several times after that the Battery 
was disunited, and while the society still held its meetings many of its 
members were far away among the flying bullets and the whizzing shells 
of the enemy. 

The tent began to show the effects of the weather and the members 
discussed the question of obtaining a new one. A special committee was 
appointed to see what could be done and reported that no suitable tent could 
be obtained from the Quartermaster. The spirits of the committee fell 
very low, but Captain Rockwell came to the rescue, and said he would draw 
on the Quartermaster for an hospital tent, which could be used by the 
society except when needed for the sick or wounded. While waiting for the 
new tent the old one was blown down during a serious gale and completely 
destroyed. 

When the Chapel tent was destroyed on Folly Island the comrades 
realized how much they missed the services on Sundays and the prayer 
meetings and discussions during the week. Those who had been indifferent 
were ready to subscribe towards the purchase of anew tent, and a committee 
was appointed to wait upon Capt. Rockwell to see what he could suggest. 
The Captain promised that a tent should be procured at once. He said that 
as he was about to go North on a vacation, he would arrange for a tent to be 
sent from Hilton Head. Capt. Rockwell was unable to fulfill his promise, 
for he was ordered back to Folly Island and instructed to be ready to take 
the Battery to Virginia. 

The new tent did not come, and the society had to discontinue its 
meetings, owing to the Battery being ordered to Virginia, where the active 



320 



HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 



duties and constant fighting rendered it impossible to attempt any regular 
services. The last officers of the society were : 

Pi-esident — Sergeant H, G. Landon. 

Secretary — C. A. Hotchkiss. 

Assistant Secretary — John T. Sloan. 

Treasurer — E. Wakeley. 

Committee — E. O. Norton, Chas. Sykes, H. C. Gillette. 

There is no doubt that the society did a vast amount of good, and the 
influence of the members was felt outside the ranks of the Battery and 
among the soldiers of the various regiments with which they came in 
contact. 

The religions association was of the greatest good morally to the 
comrades. It helped the weak to resist temptation, and added increased 
strength to those who were of firm principle. 

Comrade Clark, one of the most earnest members of the association, 
frequently acknowledged through the pages of his diary how much good the 

association with other good Christians had done. 
"We have had a prayer meeting in camp to- 
night," he wrote on April 27, 1863: "I feel that 
God has been with us and lilessed our souls. One 
or two backsliders have publicly confessed their 
failings and pleaded for sympathy. I begin to see 
that, perhaps, God has called iis together as a 
company in order that we, who profess to love 
Him, may work for the salvation of those who are 
outside the pale of Christ's family. Christians 
and sinners cannot associate as closely together as 
we do here, without one party or the other gain- 
HETHCOTE G. LANDON, ing ground. If the Christians live right, the 

of Guilford. 

Enlisted Oct 8, '6.; mustered Others must feel the power of their mfluence." 

in Oct. 26, '61 as Corporal; pro- 
moted Sergeant May 25, '63; dis- All the members were m earnest, and testi- 

chargedOct. 26, '64; timeexpired. 

fied by their lives as well as b}^ their attendance 
at the meetings, that with them religion was a living reality. 

Comrade Charles Hotchkiss, the Secretary of the Christian Society 
from its commencement to its disbanding, has passed across the river of 
death and is receiving the reward of those who have " fought the good fight 




FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861-1865 



321 



and finished their course. " His influence still lives, for he left behind him his 
diary and the record of the work of the Christian Society, and so enabled 
the Historian and Editor to place on the imperishable pages of history a 
narrative of earnest Christian work in the camp and on the battlefield. 




THE OLD MILL. 



CHAPTER XVT. 



FROM FOLLY ISLAND TO BERMUDA HUNDRED. 




^■jAREWELL, Folly Island! Not a soldier objected. 
Nine months of sand, mosquitoes, tleas and tides, 
which threatened death and disaster many times. 

Any change was a pleasant one ; and the com- 
rades rejoiced when they heard they were to go to 
Virginia. 

Two steam propellers, the General Meigs and 
Ella Knight, had been sent to the Island for the Battery, and on April 19, 
1864, the gangplanks were hauled in, and the two steamers left Pawnee 
Landing. In war, it seems that there is always a lack of transports, and the 
comfort of the men who have to do the fighting, bear the burden of warfare, 
shed their blood, and lay down their lives, is of secondary consideration. It 
is recalled that the horses, guns, carriages, ammunition, forage, provisions 
and baggage took up all the lower decks of the steamers, and the men were 
crowded on the top, with but little accommodation and few conveniences. 

In the war of the Secession this was unavoidable. The Government 
was not prepared for war ; the Republic was essentially peace-loving, and 
when the great trial came neither money nor equipments were available to 
any great extent. The Government did the very best possible, and it is a 
wonder to those who have studied the matter carefully to find so little gross 
or wilful neglect of the men's comfort, and so small a percentage of 
dishonesty. If ever a war was conducted on an honest basis, it was the 
great war of Secession. It was natural that the soldiers should feel the 
hardships of the campaign; because they were citizens and not professional 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 323 

soldiers they left the desk, the store, -flie "bank and college; they threw 
down the hoe and left the plough at the call of their country, and "being 
accustomed to home and its comforts the change was acutely felt, but the 
vast majority accepted the situation without a murmur. 

The comrades remembered the terrible sea trip on the sailing craft, the 
Elhvood Walter, and were afraid of the prospect, but the one consolation 
was that instead of canvas they had steam and, therefore, more certainty of 
a quick passage. 

The weather was fine on the way to Stono Inlet ; and as the comrades 
were supplied with plenty of rations, and the ship's cooks allowed coffee to 
be made twice a day, the prospect was not so very disagreeable. 

Stono Inlet was left at 5 o'clock in the morning of the 20th, and 
the weather was still good. The steamers hugged the shore, for they were 
only river craft and not considered very seaworthy. The Ella Knight led 
at first, and by the end of the second day the General Meigs was not 
within sight. 

The trip was not a tedious one. The time not required by the care of 
the horses was passed in singing, playing on violin, banjo, bones and other 
instrimients. In the evening there was dancing — full sets were formed for 
cotillion, Virginia Reel, and the comrades proved that they could waltz as 
well as any. The Religious Association held prayer meetings, and Comrade 
Hotchkiss would stand, tuning fork in hand, leading the singing. Dwight 
Hall, the " 'possum hunter," spent considerable time fishing over the side of 
the steamer and shooting at porpoises. The ever-watchftil "Sod" was 
keeping his eyes open to find a good square meal, even if he had to lay siege 
to a share in the officers' mess when the cook was looking some other way. 
" Sod " had sailed on the ocean many times, and understood just how the 
cook's galley was arranged, as well as the habits of the cooks. During the 
voyage he kept his eye on the cook's quarters, especially on the galley where 
the officers* food was prepared; he had learned by years of experience that 
if there was anything good on board it would be found in the possession of 
the officers' cook. " Sod " saw a fine-looking piece of roast beef lifted out 
of the oven and placed on a small shelf all ready to take to the officers' table. 
While the cook stuck his head out of the galley to get a little fresh air, as 
cooks frequently do, on account of the confined quarters in which they have 



324 HISTORY AND REMIMSCENCES 

to work, "Sod" pushed his head into the galley for a little fresh beef; in 
fact, he took the whole roast joint, steaming hot as it was, and poking it 
under his shirt, walked leisurely forward to his detachment and informed his 
tent mates that he had been to market. The roast was quickly carved, and 
the comrades took care to place it where no mortal eye could penetrate. No 
search was made and "Sod" was never found out. How the cook excused 
himself, or what he provided for the officers, was never known ; for, of course, 
no one could inquire without betraying a guilty curiosity and violating a 
military law. Perhaps the cook's proverbial excuse "It was the cat" was 
called into requisition and made to satisfy the officers. That was the last 
time "Sod" was ever known to raid the officers' mess for either food 
or whiskey. 

So calm and pleasant was the water that the comrades enjoyed them- 
selves on deck, not even fearing the dreaded Cape Hatteras, for they had 
come to think that its roughness was only a fairy story. They congratulated 
themselves that they were not blown out to sea for fourteen days as they 
had been on the Ellwood Walter, and they wondered whether the storm 
would have been so bad if they had been on a steamer instead of a 
sailing craft. 

In the midst of their wonderment, just when they began to fancy that 
life on the ocean was one of peace, there blew up a slight wind. It was not 
much, but some of the comrades began to feel that something was wrong 
with their stomachs. They might have eaten too much, or it may have 
been the water that was creating a revolution in their internal organisms. 
The water was enough to make any one sick without the motion of the 
ocean waves, for it was the first attempt to use sea water for drinking 
purposes. The water was condensed, the salt evaporated and the water 
filtered, but it was very disagreeable, and sticky enough of itself to make 
the men sick; and the least rolling or pitching of the vessel caused the 
comrades to feel qualmish. The wind increased in force, and but little 
interest was manifested when it was announced that Cape Hatteras was in 
sight. "The wind was too strong, and the desire to contribute to the 
support of the fishes too great just then," a comrade said, for much pleasure 
to be manifested. 

Comrade Griswold humorously describes some incidents of that part of 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861-1865 325 

the trip. He says: "The General Meigs was an old canal boat and, as the 
carpenter would say, had been built up one story, being very narrow and 
high; so we could expect that even a slight swell would make her roll, 
which it did, to the great inconvenience of many of the comrades, who 
were compelled to surrender their suppers to feed the fish of the sea. 
Well do I remember that while these comrades were in that condition, 
somewhat amusing to the onlookers, they were jollied by a certain cor- 
poral by the name of Beecher. I had not felt sick myself, but did not 
think it well to crow, and told the boys their turn might come, and, 
sure enough, it did; for Corporal Beecher lay very quiet in his bunk 
all the way to Fort Monroe— not sick, of course, but in a motionless, 
talkless condition. In the morning I went on deck, and as soon as I 
reached it, I began to have that peculiar feeling that only the seasick 
can understand. Looking along the deck, I discovered a row of comrades 
at the rail, each striving to excel in the work of feeding the fishes. I joined 
the line, and beHeve I stood a fair chance of being declared winner. But 
while sick, I could not but be amused at the different way the comrades 
acted. Comrade Daniel F. Scranton, whom we all loved, had ways and 
expressions peculiarly his own. He was at the rail, and every few minutes 
would cry out : 'I shall die ! I shall die 1 ' We tried to cheer him, but he only 
said 'I shall die, I can't stand it!' Notwithstanding my own miserable 
feelings, I could not help laughing at him; he finally fell back on the deck 
exclaiming, ' I am dying! I am gone! ' Just as he uttered the last expres- 
sion, one of the sailors came along and gave him a sharp kick, saying, ' Get 
up, you fool, you wont die yet.' Dan was instantly on his feet, his fists 
doubled, threatening to whip the sailor. ' I told you that you were not 
going to die,' I said. Afterwards when reminded of it. Comrade Scranton 
would say. ' Yes, there was Griswold ; I really believe he would have laughed 
if I had been really dying ', which was not true, of course." 

"Is not this awful' " asked a comrade, as the ship gave a lurch. 
"Not nearly as bad as the sand flies, the mosquitoes and fleas that have 
been sucking out our life blood on Folly Island for nine months," answered 
his friend, who was too good a sailor to be seasick in such a small squall. 
" You seem to enjoy it." 



326 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

" No, but I am delighted to get away from Folly Island, and I am glad 
we are going to Virginia," 

"Why?" 

"We have heard of the many defeats and hardships of the Virginia 
campaign under * Little Mac', Meade, Hooker, Pope and all the others, and 
we ought to be proud that we are going to retrieve the disasters and win 
new laurels for our State." 

The heavy sea prevented further conversation, for even the bravest 
had to acknowledge the power of Neptune when he lashes the sea into a 
fury off Hatteras. 

The comrade had only expressed the feelings of the members of the 
Battery, for as one said : 

"We felt that we had seen service enough, been initiated into the hard- 
ships of campaigning, and had a right to consider ourselves veterans, and 
had no special fear of the fighting line. It was with this sort of veteran's 
self-confident spirit that we entered Virginia and joined the Army of the 
James at Gloucester Point. For had we not been under fire and had our 
nerves as well as our guns tested and were not found wanting ? We had 
worked together long enough on the drill ground and the battlefield, so 
that we had supreme confidence in our Captain, our guns, our horses and 
each other to enter the new campaign equal to any emergency." 

The steamers entered Hampton Roads, and anchored off Fort Mon- 
roe about six oclock on the evening of the twenty-second of April. The 
night was calm and moonlight and the harbor presented a beautiful sight 
with its numerous transports, its war ships and gun boats. The Captain 
reported at Fort Monroe and was ordered to proceed to Gloucester Point, 
opposite Yorktown, there to join the Army of the James, under General 
Benjamin Franklin Butler. During the night the Battery started up the 
York River, the General Meigs and Ella Knight being convoyed by gun- 
boats. 

When the Battery landed at Gloucester Point a camp site was selected, 
and the position of the Battery in the Army of the James assigned. 

" When we learned that General Butler was to command, it did not 
make us feel very enthusiastic," writes a comrade, "for somehow we had 
the impression that he was not a powerful commander on the field of battle, 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 327 

but had gained his reputation more as a Provost-Marshal or a Provost than 
by successful field operations, but we had with us Generals Gillmore, Baldy 
Smith, Terry and other officers of known ability as field officers, and con- 
cluded that they would steer General Butler right." 

While in camp at Gloucester Point some of the comrades obtained per- 
mission to cross to Yorktown, the historic ground where Lord Cornwallis 
surrendered to Washington, and also where McClellan had his base of sup- 
plies during the first Richmond campaign. The visit paid to the bend of 
the river to look at the guns "Little Mac" spiked and blew up when he 
retreated after the battles of the Peninsular campaign, the famous seven 
days' retreat, caused the comrades to realize that they were viewing historic 
ground, and those guns were a reminder that serious work was before them. 
Near the camp was a small cluster of houses, occupied by contrabands, 
and the little pickaninnies would often venture into the camp, and on their 
return would tell the old folks the wonderful stories they had heard in the 

camp. These little ones were especially de- 
lighted with the musicians, and they would 
gather around Commissary Hotchkiss' tent and 
listen to him playing on his guitar or on the 
Carmina Sacra he had brought with him on his 
return from the North. The darkies would 
take the child on their knees and tell them 
of the glorious future when the war was over; 
how there would be no more slavery, but black 
and white be alike free. 
A Little Pickaninny. A few days after reaching Gloucester Point 

the comrades were required to give up all extra clothing and the A tents, 
and, in place of them, were provided with shelter tents. These shelter tents 
were simply a piece of canvas about five or six feet square for each man. 
Two men joined, and by cutting forked sticks, made a tent from the two 
pieces. The tents were so short that, when the men straightened out, their 
feet stuck out far enough for turkeys to roost on them. Officers and men 
were reduced to the minimum allowance of baggage. The men were allowed 
one woolen and one rubber blanket, no extra clothing except one shirt and 
one pair of socks; if their shoes were partly worn, or in a dilapidated con- 




328 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

dition, they were advised to throw them away and draw a new pair. The 
officers were merely allowed a hand valise. One baggage wagon was also 
dispensed with. The surplus baggage was loaded in the wagon and, in care 
of Lieutenant Clinton, Sergeant Merwin, and Comrade Wm. M. Fowler, 
sent to Norfolk. 

Lieutenant Clinton and Sergeant Tuttle had only arrived at the camp 
the day before from a long recruiting trip to the North. 

A company inspection was ordered, to see if everything was in proper 
condition for field service, and also preparatory to a grand review by General 
Benjamin F. Butler, which the General announced he intended having very 
soon after the Battery landed. 

That review was a momentous one for the comrades. They realized, 
perhaps, better then than they had ever done the magnitude of the war, 
the powerful resources of the Government, and the stern determination to 
fight it out to the bitter end. The Army of the James was only one of the 
armies fighting under the Stars and Stripes, and it was said to number, on 
the day of the review, forty thousand men of all grades. 

The entire Army of the James was reviewed by General Butler in a 
large field, and lasted from sunrise to sunset. It was one of the most im- 
pressive sights ever witnessed. Divisions, Brigades, Regiments of Infantry, 
Cavalry and Artillery marched in review, each under the command of their 
generals and staffs. All seasoned warrior veterans, each man having a 
creditable fighting record, gained by actual service before the enemy in 
many hard-fought battles and skirmishes. 

Comrade Marcus M. Hall had the distinction of holding the colors on 
which the entire line formed. 

The great Army of the James, numbering between thirty and forty 
thousand men, formed in line, and General Butler, accompanied by Generals 
Foster and Ames, rode down the line, receiving the salutes of the generals 
of divisions and brigades. Then the generals of divisions placed themselves 
on the right of General Butler, each brigade commander on the right of the 
division commander ; their staffs, followed by their flags and orderlies, placed 
themselves on the right of the staff and orderlies of the division command- 
ers. Then the command was given for the march past — the cavalry, then 
the mounted artillery and the infantry: 

'* Sweeping lines of evolution, fast the wheeling columns come, 

Half a hundred thotisand men are stepping to the beating of the drum." 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 329 

When the Battery filed into camp after the review the comrades were 
dusty, tired looking and miserable — for standing in the broiling sun, in line, 
nearly an entire day, with nothing to do or occupy your mind, only watching 
thousands of soldiers pass by and waiting to take your turn in line, inhaling 
all the dust, is one of the most tedious duties in the line of drill. Many 
men were sunstruck and the stretchers were kept busy. 

Before going out for inspection or review of any kind, all the harness 
had to be thoroughly cleaned, the brass trimmings polished as bright as 
the blazing sun, horses groomed until every hair lay in proper direction, 
gun carriages cleaned and polished to the greatest lustre. This occasion 
being a special one, the comrades took as much pains and showed the same 
pride to look and appear well as if they were preparing to attend a grand 
reception at home and expected to meet their best girls. 

On the day following the review, the rain fell in torrents and the wind 
blew with such violence that it was like a cyclone. The comrades having 
but little experience with shelter tents did not understand their peculiarities, 
and so were absolutely without cover: The Commissary tent was blown 
down and all the stores were soaked. 

The camp, being intended only for temporary occupation, had not been 
drained, no gutters had been made round the tents to carry off the water, 
and, as the soil was a red clay, when the rain fell it only slowly soaked into 
the ground, the result was that every rain storm made the camp like a mini- 
ature lake for a short time, leaving a thick, sticky red mud, which adhered 
to the boots and gave each comrade the appearance of carrying red bricks 
on their feet instead of boots. The effect was ludicrous but very annoying. 

"I shall never forget that night, " says Comrade Henry S. Lawrence, 
"it was full of events for me. I was corporal and on guard from six in 
the evening until two in the morning. The sky clouded up and the rain began 
to fall, it was dark as pitch and the horses were getting loose all the time. 
I had some sharp work getting from one post to another after them. Then 
an orderly came at midnight and I had to show him to the Captain's tent. 
In a few minutes I was ordered to wake Comrades Hotchkiss and Jillson, 
the former to cook rations and get ready to load up by daylight, the latter 
to be ready with his bugle. At two o'clock I called Corporal Scranton, and 
then went to bed. I had just got to sleep when the wind took my tent 



330 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

and about half of the others and laid them low. I got what I could of 
mine around me and lay down on the wet ground until morning." 

On the morning of May 3, 1864, the order came to break camp and load 
the Battery on transports. The guns and caissons were placed on the L. 
Durant, an old Hudson River barge, the horses and men were to have the 
steamer Convoy. That night the horses and drivers remained on shore, 
much to their discomfort. 

The comrades had become so accustomed to being loaded and unloaded 
on all kinds of ships and steamers, that everything went as smoothly as an 
ordinary drill, and seemingly with but little more trouble. Nothing could 
please the Connecticut Battery more than to be on the move. 

The Fifth New Jersey Light Battery was also loaded on the Convoy 
and L. Durant, and the comrades found the Jersey men very affable and 
pleasant. That night while the Convoy was out in the river, the united 
comrades got up a very enjoyable concert. Comrade Watson, a new recruit 
in the Connecticut Battery, had a good voice and sang some songs excellently 
while Comrade Hotchkiss accompanied him on a guitar borrowed from one 
of the Jersey comrades. 

It was soon found that the facilities for embarking the Tenth Army 
Corps were insufficient, and General Butler, who was waiting at Fort 
Monroe, was getting impatient. As usual he was sarcastic and wrote 
General Gillmore: 

" Having waited for your army corps from Port Royal, I am not a little 
surprised at waiting for you here. Push everything forward." 

Two hours later he again writes: 

" How do you proceed in the embarkation? " 

One hour after that he again writes: 

"How do you succeed in embarking? Are you all ready? If so push 
off your divisions in the order you mean they shall land." 

General Gillmore had kept the divisions back until the whole corps 
could sail. He wrote to General Terry to send his division to Fort 
Monroe as soon as possible, and to General Ames to take the lead, urging 
him not "to wait here." Then Gillmore replied to Biitler: 

"Two divisions have started. The miserable conveniences for embark- 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861-1865 33t 

ing troops have been a cause of great delay. No greater speed could have 
been made under the circumstances." 

At midnight the Battery left Gloucester Point, the Convoy having the 
barge in tow, and reached Fort Monroe at four o'clock in the morning. 
As the sun rose the scene was one of great beauty, and was really enhanced 
by a terrific thunder storm, which burst over the roads that morning. The 
lightning flashed, as it seems to do with more brilliance in Hampton Roads 
than anywhere else, the thunder rolled like the magnified sound of many 
parks of artillery, the water glistened and danced, its color changed like a 
chameleon as the lightning played upon it, the wind joined in the chorus 
and churned the water into multi-colored waves rising mountains high. 
Some of the transports collided, causing damage to bowsprits, railings, 
rigging and even to the hulls. It was a grand sight to those who were proof 
against the terrible seasickness. 

The troops comprising the Tenth Army Corps were loaded on every 
kind and description of tugboat, sloop, flat, scow, ship and steamer 
that the mind of man could imagine. Everything that would float seemed 
to have been impressed into service. From every one flags and streamers 
were flying, the sight, as they wended their way up the James River, con- 
voyed by gunboats, presented a scene never to be forgotten b}^ any soldier 
who was fortunate enough to witness it 

It was terribly beautiful! Sublimely grand ! 

The sun shone so brightly that it gave the boats the appearance of 
being parts of a mammoth excursion, bound up the river some few miles 
and then to anchor while the excursionists had a dance and picnic. Ter- 
rible, because every man knew that, underneath the surface of all the 
apparent beauty of the boats and floating palaces, there was a dread intent, 
that the boats were loaded with death-dealing missiles, which were to be 
placed in the hands of thousands of determined men who occupied the 
decks, and by the gayety and happy sa}ig froid, gave the pageant a holiday 
appearance, that these missiles were to be used for the purpose of destroying 
property and taking human life ; every man was keyed to the tune of fight, 
kill, destroy the country and the enemy and then " On to Richmond." 

All knew that Richmond was the destination of the great army, but all 
realized that many would fall by the way, yet buoyed up by hope, patriotism, 



332 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

love of country and a desire to save it, they moved forward cheerfully, 
sanguine of success, apparently indifferent to consequences, never thinking 
of what the enemy might do to them, but always thinking what they were 
going to do to the enemy. 

A comrade writing of that journey up the James, says; " We had read 
the full account of the battle between the Merrimac and Monitor, and as we 
passed the place where the fighting occurred, we were all interested. There 
was no mistaking the exact spot, no need of a guide to point to it, for there 
lay the wrecks of the battle ships Cumberland, Congress and other strong 
vessels of war , in evidence of the masterly work of the Merrimac the day 
before she was met by Ericsson's Monitor and disabled. To sail over this 
historic river was inspiring. There we saw Jamestown, the site of the first 
English colony, planted as early as 1607. On Jamestown Island we knew 
that there still stood the old church in which Pocohontas was baptized, and 
later married, and we could not help recalling that story so full of romantic 
interest of the way the Indian bride was won. The tombs of the first 
Governors of Virginia were also in the church. There, on the mainland, 
could be seen the much-sought-after locality called Powhattan, which 
three hundred years ago was the home of the historical Indian chief 
Powhattan and his lovely daughter Pocohontas. After camping so long in 
a marshy country the banks of the James looked lovely to us. When the 
fleet of forty transports and as many barges was first seen by a Confederate 
officer, who was enjoying a brief visit with his family at City Point, it was 
said that he mounted his horse and rode into the back country as fast as his 
horse could travel.' Those who saw his wild ride believed that he was a 
scout stationed there to watch for the ' hated Yankees,' and as soon as he 
saw us coming he rode back into the country to give warning to the people 
to hide their valuables before the Yankees landed." 

As the transport having the Connecticut Battery on board moved up 
the James, it passed within hailing distance of the man-of-war General 
Putnam, and a seaman waved his hand as he recognized the comrades on 
deck. The Battery boys returned the salute and were delighted to have 
seen the face, if but for a moment, cf their old comrade George Stevens, 
who on April 28, 1864, had been transferred from the Battery to the Navy. 

The Battery reached Bermuda Hundred late on the evening of Thursday, 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861-1865 333 

May 5th, but could not land imtil the following morning-. General Butler 
was again nervously anxious and wanted to know if the whole of the Tenth 
Army Corps could be landed before daybreak on the Friday. General 
Gillmore rephed at 2.45 a. m., May 6, 1864 : 
Major-General Butler, 

Commanding Department : 
I have just seen General Terry, and he reports that he cannot get the 
use of any of the wharves where the Eighteenth Army Corps have been 
disembarking, and that the pontoons are so unwieldy that they cannot make 
more than two trips to-night. The only wharf I have had is one arranged for 
the landing of General Ames' division. Colonel Serrell reports that the 
landings or scows brought up have neither anchors nor ropes, nor any 
means of making them fast. All the arrangements for landing seem very 
imperfect. Whatever they are, they are being and will be used to their 
utmost capacity, but my command will not be on shore by daybreak by 

considerable. 

Q. A. Gillmore, 
Major-General Commanding. 
The Battery landed at seven o'clock, and a httle before ten had com- 
menced its march towards Petersburg, the hearts of the comrades beating 
hieh with enthusiastic fervor. 




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CHAPTER XVII. 



MARCHING TO BERMUDA FRONT. 



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T the end of the third year of the war, the President, 
Congress, politicians and the people knew that, unless 
some swifter process and more energetic action was 
taken, there might be such a reaction in the North 
that, in the Presidential election to be held that year, 
the fate of the Republic might be sealed and its 
enemies triumphant. 

Everyone realized that there must be one supreme 
commander, and the war had proved to a positive 
certainty who that man was. Whatever may have been Grant's failings, 
whatever men may think of him in his conduct of the war, no one will deny 
that he was the necessity of the time, and that Congress acted wisely in 
passing a bill reviving the grade of lieutenant-general in February, 1864, 
and that President Lincoln did the only thing possible in conferring that 
rank on Ulysses S. Grant. Only Washington and Scott had previously 
borne that commission in the United States service, and through the three 
years of the war we had nothing higher than a major-general in the field. 

General Grant was not afraid of the politicians, the other generals had 
been. Everyone knew that Grant would "gang his ain gait" whether it 
pleased the politicians or not, and so instead of taking the advice of Gen. 
Sherman and staying in the West, he announced that his headquarters would 
be in the field, and until further orders, with the army of the Potomac. 
His first general order, as Commander of the entire United States 
Arm)', was dated March 12, 1864. In thirteen months from that date he 
had won the proud position of being considered the foremost soldier in the 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861-1865 335 

world, ranking with the greatest generals of all time, and not having been 
excelled by any. The war was ended, Lincoln was in a martyr's grave — 
alas! that it should have been so — and the olive branch was being held ont 
by Grant to a subdued but valiant and grandly noble people. 

Grant planned a campaign whose very magnitude frightened the 
politicians. He made the Army of the Potomac his center; the Army of 
the James, under Gen. Butler, his left wing; the Western armies, com- 
manded by Gen. W. T. Sherman, his right wing; and the army under 
Banks in Louisiana, a force operating in the rear of the enemy. 

To move such immense armies simultaneously, so that each should 
co-operate with the other was looked upon as visionary. His plan was that 
all should move at the same time — Butler against Petersburg, to seize the 
Southern communications of the Confederate capital, Richmond; Sherman 
was to defeat Johnston's army at Dalton, Ga. , or failing to defeat it, to force 
it back and capture Atlanta with its workshops and important communica- 
tions; Mobile was to be reached by Gen. Banks, and its harbor closed to 
blockade-runners ; Sigel was detailed to drive back the Confederate force in 
the Shenandoah valley, and prevent that beautiful and fertile district 
continuing to supply the enemy with grain ; while Grant, with his Army of 
the Potomac, took Lee's army as an objective, following it wherever Lee'c 
master mind should take it, flanking and fighting it until it should be 
captured or scattered. 

Gen. Grant, in his instructions to Gen. Butler, said: 

"Richmond is to be your objective point, and there is to be co-operation 
between your force and the Army of the Potomac. This indicates the 
necessity of your holding close to the south bank of the James River as yoii 
advance. Then should the enemy be forced into his intrenchments in 
Richmond, the Army of the Potomac would follow, and by means of 
transports the two armies would become a unit." 

Gen. Grant was certain that Butler would be able to move his force the 
same day that Meade moved from Culpepper, and that the two armies could 
drive the enemy into Richmond. 

Gen. Butler did not move as promptly as the armies of Grant and 
Sherman. The Army of the James was for two weeks assembling the i8th 
Corps at Jamestown, and the loth Corps at Gloucester, immediately 



336 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

opposite, on the York River. Butler's first care was to mislead the enemy 
concerning his intentions. For that purpose he sent Henry's brigade 
of New York troops, on May i, to West Point, at the head of the York River, 
to begin the construction of wharves, while cavalry made a demonstration in 
the direction of Richmond. He also sent the bulk of his army in that 
direction as far as the old lines of McClellan at Gloucester Point and York- 
town. This strategy deceived the Confederates, and they were not 
iindeceived until it was too late to prevent the mischief. On the night of 
May 4, transports, sent up from Hampton Roads, conveyed Butler's army 
around to the James River, and by dawn the next morning, artillery and 
infantry, to the number of 35,000 men, accompanied by a squadron of war 
vessels, under Rear-Admiral S. P. Lee, ascended the river for the purpose 
of seizing City Point. The transports were preceded by three army 
gunboats, under the command of Gen. Charles R. Graham, formerly of the 
Navy. The remainder of the naval force consisted of four monitors, the 
ironclad Atia7ita, and ten gunboats, commanded by Admiral Lee, whose 
flagship was the Malvern, formerly a blockade runner. 

Gen. Butler, in addressing the Army of the James in October of that 
year, recalled that voyage in the following language : 

"At sunset, on the 4th, yoii were threatening the enemy's capital from 
West Point and White House, within thirty miles on its eastern side. 
Within twenty-four hours, at sunset, on May 5, by a march of 130 miles, you 
transported 35,000 men — their luggage, supplies, horses, wagons and 
artillery — within fifteen miles of the south side of Richmond, with such 
celerity and secrecy, that the enemy were wholly unprepared for your 
coming, and allowed you, without opposition, to seize the strongest natural 
position on the continent. A victory all the more valuable because 
bloodless." 

Gen. Gillmore reported to Gen. Butler: 

"On ]\Iay 4th my command embarked at Gloucester Point, and on the 
following day ascended the James River, in rear of the i8th Corps, com- 
manded by Maj.-Gen. W. F. Smith. 

"On the night of the 5th both corps effected a landing at Bermuda 
Hundred, and on the 6th advanced and took up the line we now occupy, 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861-1865 337 

extending- from the James River to the Appomattox, my command being 
on the right." 

At 8:30 a.m. of the 6th, Gen. Smith sent a message to Butler from the 
point reached by his advance, not far from where the line of intrenchments 
was subsequently made. He reported that the engineers had already com- 
menced laying them out. At 9 o'clock Gillmore sent a similar report to 
Butler. It was not until about 4 p. m. that Smith sent out Heckman with a 
brigade to make a reconnaissance toward Port Walthall Junction, in the 
direction of Petersburg. Gillmore devoted his force to building the earth- 
works. This delay of the advance proved a serious mistake. The landing 
at Bermuda Hundred had been a complete surprise and the enemy 
were totally unprepared. Between Petersburg and Drewry's Bluff, there 
was, during the forenoon of the 6th, no force at all excepting a few cavalry 
pickets. When, about 5 o'clock, Heckman came near Port Walthall Junction, 
near where the turnpike crossed the railroad, he found a force of the enemy 
posted behind the railroad embankment, strong enough to successfully resist 
his further advance, but the records show that the greater part of this force 
had reached that point only an hour or two before Heckman's arrival; 
apart from Drewry's Bluff and apart from Petersburg. 

The enemy was, of course, reinforced during the night, so that they 
were able to repulse the attack on the morning of the 7th of May, but even 
then these did not exceed 5,000 in Petersburg and Port Walthall Junction 
by the evening of the yth. 

Capt. Rockwell, commenting on this delay, says: 

" The truth appears to be, that the failure to march on the 6th, or even on 
the yth, across the Appomattox and make a determined attack on Petersburg 
was a gigantic blunder. It is beyond question, that had Butler, leaving say 
10,000 men to work on the entrenchments, moved promptly with 20,000 on 
Petersburg, south of the Appomattox, we should have taken Petersburg on 
the 6th or 7th." 

Gen. Butler had sent Kautz with 3,000 cavalry out from Suffolk, May 5, 
to cut the railroads south of Petersburg. Kautz had done his work so effect- 
ively that the reinforcements which Beauregard was bringing as rapidly as 
possible from North Carolina were seriously delayed, and Beauregard did 
not himself reach Petersburg till the morning of the 9th. "With Peters- 



338 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

burg in our hands, " says Captain Rockwell, "we should have had control of 
all the lines of railroads from the South, excepting one into Richmond, and 
the situation of Lee's army would have been a very different one. The 
question of supplies for it and for Richmond would have become a very 
serious one. 

"It is idle to speculate upon what would have been the result, but a 
great general — Grant, Sherman, Sheridan, and many others — would have 
seen at once that it was such an opportunity as seldom happens. The cap- 
ture of Petersburg at that time would have had far-reaching effects." 

When the First Division of the loth Army Corps landed at City Point, 
the 39th Illinois Volunteers were sent in advance as skirmishers, up the 
Bermuda Peninsula toward the Richmond and Petersburg Railroad. 

The day was intensely hot, and marching under the broiling sun was 
almost a torture. The Connecticut Battery followed closely in the rear of 
the advance guard and the skirmishers. All along the road could be seen 
blankets and shoes, and even knapsacks , which had been thrown away by 
the infantry as being too burdensome in such a rapid march under the noon- 
day broiling sun. One comrade said, "We literally walked on discarded 
blankets. " 

Notwithstanding the intense heat, the comrades enjoyed the march 
through the beautiful lowlands of Virginia, for the air was so pure after the 
miasma of Folly Island. As one comrade exclaimed, "This is God's own 
country!" Along the roads they found large shade trees — oaks, pines, fruit 
trees in abundance — while the cultivated lands on either side of the road, the 
good spring water, so delicious after the brackish water of Folly Island, 
comfortable looking houses, sheep, chicken and lots of foragable articles, 
put the comrades in the highest spirits. 

During the march strict orders were given that no one must leave the 
line for anything, and the majority of the comrades obeyed to the letter. 
A comrade recalls an incident of that march which is best told in his own 
words: " We had comrades in the Battery who could smell anything good 
to eat at a distance of one to five miles from a camp or line of march in any 
direction. Comrade Dwight Hall was an expert in getting a line on any- 
thing eatable if it were within a day's journey of wherever the Battery 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861-1865 



339 




DWIGHT H HALL, 
of Guilford. 
Enlisted First Connecticut In- 
fantry Co. F, April i8, 1861; mus- 
tered out July 31, 1861 enlisted 
Light Battery November 7, 1861; 
mustered in November 14. 1861; 
discharged November T3, 1864; 
time expired 



happened to be located. He was a persistent hunter, always shooting 

game, large or small, though opossum was his 

favorite. On this account he was nicknamed 

'Opossum.' He always had something extra to 

eat, and had a most uncommonly large appetite, 

but was very generous and divided his extras with 

any comrade who happened to see him first when 

he returned with any game or delicac5^ The 

infantry picket ran into a flock of sheep, bayoneted 

a few, but in the rapid movements they were 

required to make could not stop to capture the 

entire flock. When the main army followed they 

finished the flock of sheep, and our comrade was, 

as usual, on hand, and just as lucky hunting sheep 

as 'possum. 

"As the Battery resumed the march Comrade 
'Possum ' was missed. The sergeant of his 
detachment kept looking around, asking, 'Where is D wight Hall? Where's 
Hall?' The word was passed down the line: 'Where's 'Possum? Who has 
seen 'Possum? ' A comrade replied, ' O, he has caught sight of an opossum,' 
and another laughingly added, 'or something else good to eat.' Before his 
name had been called many times Comrade Hall was seen running to over- 
take the Battery, with a lamb on his back, which he quickly divided among 
the comrades who first saw him. He cut the lamb into pieces small enough 
to put into the haversacks, the wool, blood stained and dirty, and skin all on. 
Each comrade dressed his own piece when the Battery went into camp for 
the night." 

The enemy offered no resistance, and after a hot march of five miles, 
the Battery camped in a field full of young spruce trees and surrounded by 
dense woods, through which ran a stream of water, deliciously cooling and 
pleasant. A spring that was strongly impregnated with lime was in a 
corner of the field. The surroundings were decidedly pleasant when 
compared with other camps, and as each recent camp had been an improve- 
ment on the preceding, so this was vastly superior to the one at Gloucester 
Point. The comrades were pleased with the prospect of constantly changing 



340 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

camps, believing- that the farther inland they got the better would be the 
camping ground. During the night the comrades heard the familiar sound 
of a cow bell. There was something homelike in it, and many preferred to 
listen to its music rather than sleep. Comrade Dickinson says that some of 
the comrades thought the cow bell was a device of the enemy to entice them 
from the camp so that they could be captured. 

It was difficult to realize that so many thousand soldiers were camped 
within a small radius, though occasionally the sounds from the camps would 
be borne on the breeze and be evidence that other regiments were not so far 
distant. 

In the evening tremendous cheering was heard on the skirmish line and 
in the camps near the Battery. It was at once thought that an important 
victory had been won, and the hearts of the comrades beat fast with patriotic 
fervor. Later the report reached the camp that the cheering had been 
occasioned by Gen. Butler's escape from the Confederates. 

It was reported that Gen. Butler, in riding from one division to another 
of the Army of the James, got on the wrong road and was riding directly 
into the Confederate lines. Almost as soon as he discovered his mistake, 
some of the enemy's cavalry started after him, firing and racing their horses 
at their topmost speed. Gen. Butler was mounted on his very fleet charger 
" Almond Eye," which certainly saved his life that time. Butler was not a 
graceful rider, he was too fat to be ornamental, and his appearance was 
made still worse by the loss of his hat and one glove. The Confederate 
cavalry pursued him almost into the Union lines. When Gen. Butler 
reached the Union picket line he was shaking like a jelly-bag and presented 
a very comical appearance. His horse was covered with dirt and foam, 
shots had been falling so close that they narrowly escaped hitting him, and 
the Commander of the great Army of the James was dirty, hot, his coat tails 
flying in the wind, and he was without hat and one glove as he entered the 
lines. Never handsome, his face more like a caricature than that of a real, 
living person, he now looked so very grotesque that no one could help 
smiling, and it was with great difficulty that loud laughter was suppressed. 

The officers congratulated him on his escape, though some, thought 
the Army of the James would have been benefited by his capture. There 
was honest sorrow when it was reported that one of his orderlies, who was 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 341 

not as well mounted as his chief, had really fallen into the hands of the 
enemy. Gen. Butler had a very wholesome fear of falling into the hands of 
the enemy, for in December, 1862, President Jefferson Davis, of the Con- 
federate States, had issued a Proclamation declaring- that "Benjamin 
Franklin Butler was an outlaw, and that if captured he was to be held for 
execution." 

His horse, Almond Eye, had saved his life, but was soon to lose his own 
through a strange mistake. 

A few days after this adventure Gen. Butler received information that 
his favorite horse. Almond Eye, had been accidentally killed by falling into 
a ravine. Butler could scarcely repress his emotion, for he almost loved 
the horse. When he recovered himself, he ordered an Irish soldier to go 
and carefully skin the horse and have the skin prepared for preserving, for 
the General determined that the skin should be a rug in his study in his 
Massachusetts home. 

"What! Is Almond Eye dead?" asked the soldier. 

The General glared fiercely at him and exclaimed: 

" What's that to you? Do as I bid y(^\\, and ask no questions." 

The soldier saluted and left the presence of the brusque and uncouth 
officer. It was two hours before he returned. 

"Where have you been all the time, Pat?" the General asked 
almost softly. 

" Skinnin' the horse, yer honor." 

" Does it take two hours to perform such an operation? " 

"No, yer honor; but then, you see, it tuck 'bout half-an-hour to 
catch him." 

"Catch him? Fire and furies! Was he alive?" 

"Yes, yer honor; an' you know I could not skin him alive." 

"Skin him alive? Did you kill him?" 

"To be sure, I did. You told me to obey an' ask no questions. Sure 
an' I asked you if he was dead." 

Gen. Butler uttered but one word : 

"Go!" 

But his eyes flashed with such dangerous fire that it would not have 
surprised anyone if he had taken some means of skinning the Irishman. 



342 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

"Poor Almond Eye ! " It was a groan, but that was all. The eccentric 
General, the curious compound which made up the personality of Benjamin 
Franklin Butler, dismissed the matter from his mind and never after 
referred to it. 

The bugle called the comrades at three o'clock in the morning-, but 
before the horses could be harnessed it was known that it was a false alarm, 
and the men returned to their tents. 

On the morning of May 7th the Third Brigade of Terry's division, 
commanded by Col. Harris M. Plaisted, reported to Maj.-Gen. Smith, 
commanding the i8th Army Corps, and was assigned for the day to Gen_ 
Brooks' command. The column took up the line of march in the direction 
of the junction of the pike and the Petersburg Railroad, Gen. Burnham's 
Brigade having the advance. The Connecticut Battery moved with 
Plaisted's Brigade and was held in reserve. 

Col. Plaisted says: "I was ordered by Gen. Brooks to descend into a 
wide valley to the right of Burnham and find the railroad, and to destroy as 
much of it as possible. Barton's Brigade was also to make a demonstration 
in the enemy's front. Taking a wide detour to the right by a ravine, and 
concealed by the woods, I moved my brigade to the pike in three columns, 
the 1 00th New York Volunteers, Col, Danby, on the right; 24th Ma.ssachu- 
setts Volunteers, Col. Osborn, in the centre; and the loth Connecticut 
Volunteers, Col. Otis, on the left, the two latter regiments somewhat retired. 
Finding no enemy on the pike, I put the looth (my right regiment) in 
through the wood upon the railroad, a short distance to the north of the 
junction. This regiment immediately became hotly engaged. Col. Danby 
attacked the enemy with great vigor, charging across the railroad and 
driving him from the high ground beyond. He swung his right forward 
and held the enemy for full two hours and a half, while the 24th and 
pioneers were destroying the road." 

Col. Danby on reaching the pike found the woods in front between the 
head of his column and the railroad very difficult for skirmishers and 
impenetrable by any other description of troops. He, therefore, turned to the 
right and entered an open field, which, though swampy and cut up by small 
streams, was practicable for infantry. Across this field, under a brisk fire 
from the enemy, he carried his colors, and crossing the railroad rallied his 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 343 

men on a height overlooking the enemy's position and within short range 
of their advanced rifle pits. On his left the 48th New York was 
forming and rendered splendid assistance. Twice the enemy charged the 
position, and twice were driven back by the gallant New Yorkers. While 
Col. Danby and Col. Barton held this position the other regiments of the 
brigade were engaged in tearing up and destroying the telegraph lines, both 
on the turnpike and the railroad. 

The loss was very heavy, but the result, from a military standpoint, was 
held to have more than counterbalanced the account. The Connecticut 
Battery returned to camp without having participated in the engagement. 
Supper was being prepared on the evening of the seventh when an order 
came to break camp and march about a mile nearer Petersburg, where it 
went into battery, supported by the 7th Connecticut Volunteers. 

Comrade Dickinson, speaking of that camp, says: 

" The next night, just after dark, that our Battery, led by one of Gen. 
Terry's staff, started, and after a hurried ride of nearly an hour, camped on 
ground which we afterwards came to know very well. When I woke next 
morning the first sound 1 heard was the rippling of running water, and on 
turning out to see what it was I found we were camped near the edge of a 
ravine, at the bottom of which ran a little rippling brook. It was the first 
running water we had seen for many months, and all the comrades were 
delighted with it. We made that our permanent camp, and from it we made 
frequent excursions against the enemy." 

Gen. Butler was pleased with the progress made, for he reported to 
Secretary of War Stanton on May 7th: 

"We got into position yesterday. Are intrenching for fear of accident 
to the Army of the Potomac. Sent out a reconnoissance yesterday on the 
Petersburg Railroad. Have sent two divisions this morning to take posses- 
sion of the road. Up to this moment have exceeded my most sanguine 
expectations." 

Referring to this dispatch of General Butler, Captain Rockwell says it 
shows "how completely he failed to appreciate the situation. We lost 240 
men, and all we had to show for it was 300 yards of the railroad torn up. 
Our troops were withdrawn into the intrenchments leaving the railroad 



344 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

and pike in the hands of the enemy. They could, in a few hours, repair all 
the damage done. 

"That remark, 'Are intrenching for fear of accident to the Army of 
the Potomac,' is another evidence of Butler's colossal assurance. 

" Grant had ordered Butler to push with all his might for the taking of 
Richmond, implying that the capture of Petersburg was the preliminary, 
and how did Butler execute it ? Landing on the 5th at night, at 8:30 on the 
6th he was within three miles of the railroad and pike. He made no serious 
attempt to take Petersburg, and began the move toward Richmond only on 
the 12th, thus allowing Beauregard time to get up his ro,ooo men from 
North Carolina, and collect enough from elsewhere, to enable him on the 
1 6th to dislodge us from our earthworks in front of Drewry's Bluff, and vir- 
tually force us back into our intrenchments, some two to three miles from 
the railroad and pike. 

"The enemy in Richmond were greatly scared on the 6th. A captain of 
a Connecticut regiment, who has just been visiting me, tells me that he was 
at that time a prisoner in Libby Prison, Richmond, and that on the evening 
of the 6th the prisoners were all sent off South from Libby, in great haste. 
The Confederate telegrams to Beauregard say that in Richmond they were 
' in great straits. ' 

"Now we made clear the point we were aiming at, and then gave the 
enemy ample time to get ready for us." 

While Gen. Gillmore was working faithfully, in accordance with orders, 
his superior, Gen. Butler, was trying to have him removed and one of his 
own favorites installed in his place as commander of the loth Army Corps. 
In a letter to the Hon. Henry Wilson, marked confidential, and dated 
"Headquarters, Bermuda Landing, May 7th," Gen. Butler says: 

"I must take the responsibility of asking you to bring before the 
Senate at once the name of Gen. Gillmore, and have his name rejected by 
your body. Gen. Gillmore may be a very good engineer officer, but he is 
wholly useless in the movement of troops. He has been behind in every 
movement. He has lost twenty-four hours here in putting his line in a 
state of defense; but, above all, he has refused to move when ordered. I 
directed him to co-operate in a movement with Gen. Smith when he went to 
make demonstration on the Petersbure Railroad, and he failed to do so. and 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 347 

then sent me word that he did not obey the order for reasons that seemed 
good to himself, and has not deigned to give me the reasons, although he 
has sent me a report of his operations, or, rather, want of operations. I 
have known Gen. Gillmore only since he came here, but I find many of his 
troops are desirous of getting away from him. I have a good corps 
commander here in his place. Show this to Wade, Chandler and Fessenden, 
and bring the matter to a vote at once." 

To Gen. Gillmore, on the same day, he wrote: 
" It will be necessary to put your line in posture of defense at once. Your 
rations will be along in time. I took your teams for the purpose of sending 
along your shovels: work first, eat afterwards." 

Gen. Gillmore at once set the entire force at work making intrench- 
ments and following out Butler's orders, though he protested that the 
position was not the best that could be taken. 

Several skirmishes were reported along the line during the night and 
the Sth of May. On that night the Battery was relieved from picket duty 
and fell back of breastworks, camping for the night, but before midnight 
Capt. Rockwell ordered rations to be given out and for everything to be in 
readiness to move at daybreak. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 



ADVANCING TOWARDS PETERSBURG. 




ONG before daybreak on the morning of May 9, 1864, 
Gen. Gillmore was ready to move out a large portion 
of his command, in accordance with orders received 
from Gen. Butler, to strike the railroad at, and 
southward of, Chester Station. Gen. Butler's order 
was as follows : 

Headquarters 
Department of Virginia and North Carolina, 

Bermuda Landing, Va., May 8, 1864. 
Maj.-Gen. Gillmore: 

You will take all your command but three brigades, which were de- 
tailed before, and demonstrate to the right and front, via Ware Bottom 
Church, upon the railroad, accomplishing its destruction at any place where 
you may strike it, and along as much of it as possible. The enemy are in 
our front with cavalry, 5,000 men, and it is a disgrace that we are cooped 
up here. This movement will commence at daylight to-morrow morning, 
and is imperative. Answer if you have received this order, and will be 

ready to move. 

Benj. F. Butler, 

Major-General, Commanding. 
The Special Order issued to the brigade commanders by Gen. Gillmore 
was that " Brig. -Gen. Ames, with one brigade and one battery will march 
at 4.30 a. m. Brig. -Gen. Turner will follow immediately after Gen. Ames, 
with one brigade and one battery. Brig.-Gen. Terry will follow immedi- 
ately after Gen. Turner, with two brigades and two batteries. The troops 
will be supplied with sixty rounds of ammunition, and three days' cooked 
rations. If this number of rations is not on hand, they will take what they 
have, and the remainder will be packed in wagons, ready to move if ordered. 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861-1865 349 

The men will move in light marching order, with rubber blankets or shelter 
tents, and with full ranks, according to the morning reports. Engineer 
detachments and pioneers will be equipped with axes, shovels and picks (a 
greater proportion of axes). All straggling is strictly prohibited, and will 
be summarily punished." 

At four o'clock, on the morning of the ninth, the battery was hitched 
up and moved forward in the place assigned it in the column of march, 
immediately in the rear of the First Brigade, First Division, until the 
Richmond and Petersburg road was reached. At that point the right sec- 
tion of the battery, under Lieut. George Metcalf, was detached and sent 
along the turnpike towards Richmond to protect the right of the line ; the 
left and center sections took up a position about three-fourths of a mile 
from the cross-roads. 

About eleven o'clock Capt. Rockwell moved the left and center sections 
of the battery down the turnpike toward Petersburg, to the point where 
it crossed the railroad, and there halted. 

When the railroad was reached there was ghastly evidence of the skir- 
mish which had taken place two days previously. Several dead men were 
in sight, one hanging on a rail fence with his head on one side and feet on 
the other; another lay in a ditch by the side of the road head downwards, 
and several were lying, as they had fallen, at the foot of the railroad 
embankment. A Union soldier was found in the bushes, wounded, and 
only just alive. He had been there since the skirmish on the morning of 
the seventh. The poor fellow's glassy eyes lighted up as he saw some of 
the Boys in Blue, but he could not speak, and died in a few minutes after he 
was discovered, 

A comrade writes: " In a field near our camp that night lay the bodies 
of three dead soldiers, not buried, but turned black from the exposure. At 
first we thought they were negroes, until by examining their features and 
uniforms we discovered that they were Confederates, who had been shot 
while defending the railroad. One of the enemy lay in the corner of a fence, 
in a position which indicated that he was struck while climbing over it. 
These were ghastly signs on the eve of a battle, pointing to us the probable 
fate of many who were then enjoying the excitement of camp life in an 
active campaign. Cheap as life was seemingly held, every comrade who 



350 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

looked at the ghastly forms of those dead Confederates paused, and their 
faces assumed a thoughtful, pitiful expression, feeling only slightly consoled 
by the thought that they were not Unionists, and that their death, perhaps, 
diminished the shooting capacity of the enemy by three." 

Not many slept in tents that night. Comrade INIarcus M. Hall says he 
slept in a small canyon, or ravine, in a place having the appearance of a stone 
quarry, his bed a shelving ledge of rock, his pillow a piece of stone. He 
moved his head every few minutes to try and find a softer spot in the ledge 
on which to rest it. 

The guns of the two sections were posted during that night in the road, 
at a point commanding the road and the railroad. 

During the long hours of the gth the comrades could hear the roar of 
artillery and the rattle of musketry in the distance, and expected every 
minute to be ordered into the thick of the fight. 

The 6th and 7th Connecticut Regiments were engaged in cutting 
telegraph wires, tearing up the railroad track and burning the poles and 
ties. The brigade stood close together and pried up the rails, tumbling 
them down a steep embankment. The method adopted by the engineers and 
carried out by all the regiments employed in destroying the railroads was a 
very simple, but effective one. The fish plates or bolts would be removed 
from one end of a section of railroad, and then a number of soldiers would 
line up, facing the road, shoulder to shoulder, close to the track. At a 
given command the men would stoop, seize the rail with both hands, and 
then, at a second command, would raise rail and ties to a vertical position 
and topple it over the embankment. The weight of the rails and the 
impetus of the fall would tear up another section and, at the same time, so 
twist the rails that they could not again be used. 

Captain Rockwell is of the opinion that this method of destroying a 
railroad was not as effective as the one adopted by General Sherman's army. 
They built a fire of the ties and heated the middle part of the rails red-hot; 
then with two men at each end of the rail it was bent round into the shape 
of a loop, the ends crossed, and thus completely ruined. 

Gen. Ames, commanding the 3d Brigade Second Division, was also at 
work destroying the railroad, and by noon Gen. Butler was able to report 
that "most of the railroad has now been destroyed." 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861-1865 351 

Captain Rockwell thinks that General Butler was incorrect in his state- 
ment that most of the railroad had been destroyed. He says: "The road 
from Richmond to Petersburg is 24 miles long, and we never held more 
than 3 or 4 miles of it. It is doubtful if more than 2 miles of it were 
even temporarily disabled. No bridges or ties were burned." 

In the afternoon the right section retired about a mile, to guard the 
rear on the pike, with about 500 Infantry, under the command of Col. Cyrus 
J. Dobbs of the 13th Illinois Infantry. 

The I St U. S. Colored Cavalry, Col. Garrard, had been ordered to 
report to Maj.-Gen. W. F. Smith, commanding the i8th Army Corps, but 
by some mistake reached the 85th Pennsylvania at Ware Bottom Church, and 
after a short time, found out their mistake and left for Chester Station 

While the right section of the Connecticut Battery was on duty up the 
turnpike, about one mile beyond Chester Station, a body of mounted men 
was seen approaching through a ravine and along the side of a hill between 
the hues. Col. Dobbs ordered the Battery to fire on the troops, but 
countermanded the order before any shot could be fired. The Colonel said 
that he would ride over and see what troops they were. He found that they 
were 2,000 colored cavalry sent up from Portsmouth to report to the Colonel 
commanding the Brigade. He censured them for their neglect in not 
reporting at once, and told them that they might have been fired into. The 
colored commander replied: 

"If you had fired we would have wiped you off the face of the earth." 
They had their martial metal tested before many hours passed. They 
were forming in an open field, more or less surrounded by woods, apparently 
reconnoitering. Suddenly from the woods a galling fire was poured into 
them by the Confederates, who evidently had been watching them. The 
colored cavalry was taken completely by surprise, and did not stop to wipe 
anybody off the face of the earth, as they had threatened the Connecticut 
Battery some hours before. They put spurs to their horses and ran away as 
fast as they could make their horses gallop. They did not go in mihtary 
order, but each one for himself, some with their heads bent close to the 
horse's neck, others with heads so low down that they were covered by the 
horse, some hung by the pommel of the saddle in their efforts to get 
protection from the bullets in any way possible. They galloped away. 



352 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

looking very unsoldierlike — their black, wooly heads white with the dust 
made by the horses feet as they tore over the field down the turnpike and 
through the line of the Connecticut Battery. Comrade Charles Coss, 
who was standing close to his gnn with his sponge staff, knocked one of 
the cavalry off his horse, shouting as he did so: 

" Where are you going you ?" 

They were in a panic, riding like furies, throwing away their canteens, 
guns, caps, anything in their mad flight. Col. West, a few days later, said 
that he would never wish for better cavalry than this colored regiment, but 
evidently he did not base his report on that day beyond Chester Station. 

From that time on they were known as the " Monkey Cavalry." 

The Confederates followed them up and attacked the Union force con- 
sisting of 500 Infantry and the right section of the Battery. 

The Battery section held the enemy at bay, firing rapidly and retreating 
after every shot, using ^. prolonge, which is a hempen rope about 26 feet 7 
inches long, with a hook at one end and a toggle at the other, with two 
intermediate I'ings, into which the hook and toggle are fastened, to shorten 
the distance between the limber and carriage. It is used to fasten the 
gun to the limber when firing in retreat or advancing. In this way each 
gun retreated about 75 feet after firing. This was kept up until dark, when 
the enemy fell back. 

When night came on and the section fell back to the turnpike, where 
the roads cross, the comrades felt that they were in a dangerous position, so 
far from camp, and almost surrounded by the enemy; in fact, the rumor 
had reached the centre and left sections that the Confederates had broken 
through the lines and had cut off the right section. Not a man was allowed 
to leave his piece for a moment, the cannoneers slept lying under and on 
their guns ready for action at a second's notice. The night was one of 
anxiety, and nerves were strung to a fighting pitch, the men would start at 
every unusual sound, while a sergeant kept whispering: 

"Don't speak! Keep those horses quiet! Make those horses stop 
rattling the harness. " 

During the evening of the 9th and early the following morning the left 
and centre sections were receiving all sorts of reports about the right section. 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 355 

Some declared that it had been captured and others that it was out of 
ammunition and at the mercy of the enemy. 

Everyone was anxious, all the comrades were worked up to the greatest 
nervous tension, and many feared the worst. 

Comrade Dickinson, speaking of the awful anxiety felt during the time 
the right section was away, says: "When the right section was away up 
the pike towards Petersburg, we all felt very uneasy. When night came 
and no word had been received from the section, Gen. Terry and Capt. 
Rockwell felt very anxious, and about 8 o'clock Comrade Upson and I were 
ordered to report to Gen. Terry's headquarters. Reporting, we were 
ordered by the General to proceed up the pike, find the section, and, if 
possible, learn something of Col. Dobbs, who had taken his regiment up the 
pike when the section went up. We started immediately, but we found the 
road so full of gullies and worn into ruts that we were compelled to go at a 
walk. There was no moon and the pike bordered, as it was, with thick 
woods, was very indistinct. After going, perhaps, two miles, we met an 
orderly looking for Gen. Butler. He had fallen, he said, several times in 
the gullies and was almost played out. Leaving him, we went as far again, 
when, in a very dark place in the road, we were halted by some one at the 
side of the road, and saw that it was Corporal Huntington. The section 
was drawn up in column on one side of the pike, but it was so dark that we 
would have passed them, although they were not more than ten feet away. 
They told us that the regiment was further up the pike all right, so riding- 
back, we reported and then went into camp." 

During the night Col. Henry massed all the infantry, who were armed 
with Spencer carbines, in rear of the picket line, and by skilful manoeuvre- 
ing gave the enemy the idea that the picket line had been withdrawn, 
inducing them to charge the reserve, when the hidden Spencers opened with 
terrible effect, making a horrible roar and doing great execution among 
the enemy. 

While the right section was engaged in deadly conflict with the enemy 
in the afternoon of the 9th, a section of the Connecticut Battery was sent 
over a hill to teach a lesson to a battery from Petersburg. A Confederate 
Battery had been causing considerable annoyance to the Union pickets and 
the Connecticut men were ordered to silence it. Three or four shots from 



356 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

the Connecticut Battery guns made the Home Guard Battery of Petersburg 
fly for safety. It was evident that the Confederate Battery was manned by 
amateurs, for as one of the Connecticut men said: "They would not stay 
long- enough to give us half a chance to show what we could do." 

The right section spent the night of May 9th on the turnpike, at the 
crossing of the Chester Station road. Early in the morning they moved 
into the lane in front of the Winfree house, which position they held until 
they had fired all their ammunition. The firing in front of the house was 
breaking all the window glass, and shaking things up generally; a woman 
came out without hat, or any head covering, and with a fierce glare in her 
eyes, walked to the lane fence and, in a tone of voice indicating she was 
both mad and excited, ordered Comrade William Fowler to take the guns 
away ; her eyes were flashing with indignation as she said : 

" You'd better get away from here, or you all get hurt." 

Fowler smiled and wondered at the temerity of the woman, but replied 
as calmly as he coiild : 

" If you don't want to get hurt, you'd better get into your cellar as 
qiiick as you can." 

The woman asked where the Battery came from, and, on being told, 
said: 

" I used to live in New Haven myself, and know what a mean lot of 
folks you all are. I tell you, you'd better go away from here, or you'll get 
hurt! Our folks won't stand it I " 

" My good lady," Fowler replied very courteously, " my advice to you 
is, get into your cellar as quick as possible." 

During the conversation the section was firing rapidly, and Fowler had 

no time to extend further courtesy to the lady; as he turned to prepare 

another shell she was still standing at the lane fence, ordering the Battery 

away. 

The incident was an amusing one, and the comrades often wondered 

what became of the New Haven woman who had imited herself to the 
cause of the South. 

Comrade William Fowler, during this early morning fight, tried to cook 
some coffee for his brother and one or two other comrades. He had built a 
fire in the corner of a snake fence, nicely sheltered. His duties were to deal 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 357 

out ammunition and cut fuse for the shells. He would cut the fuse, hand 
out the shell and ammunition, then, while it was being carried to the gun, 
look after his fire and coffee. This routine he kept up all the morning. 
The Confederates had the range on the Battery a little too high, but nearly 
in line with Fowler's coffee-pot. So the comrade with his many duties of 
cutting fuse, dodging the shells and looking after his coffee, was experienc- 
ing a hot time. The shots came so regularly that by close calculation he 
was able to give attention to the cooking. After all his trouble and risk he 
had to leave the field and the coffee, for the section had run out of ammuni- 
tion and was ordered to the rear on double quick, and got away just in time 
to avoid being captured. 

This engagement was the first in which a magazine shot or repeating rifle 
had been used. When the enemy made a dash to capture the Union 
pickets, they were calculating on receiving a volley from the regular Spring- 
field, one shot, rifles; after they received one volley, they made a rush to 
advance as far as possible while they supposed the guns were being 
re-loaded, but to their utter astonishment there was no stopping to load, but 
volley after volley met them in quick succession. All engaged in that 
charge, who were not killed, were captured ; one of the prisoners, in passing 
down the line, said: 

"Say, Yanks, what kind of a thing is it that you fellows wind up and it 
shoots right along all night? " 

Colonel Henry's skilful movement struck terror into the enemy. 



CHAPTER XIX. 



THE BATTLE OF CHESTER STATION. 




'HAT the tenth of May, 1864, will ever be 
remembered by the comrades of the First 
Connecticut Light Battery can never be 
denied. The battle of Chester Station, 
judging from the great battles of the 
Wilderness and other memorable contests 
during the war, would not stand out on 
the pages of history as a memorable one, 
though judging by more modern standards, 
it was well worthy of such honor, but to 
the comrades of the Battery it was one 

of the fiercest and best contested battles in which they were engaged. 

It gave an opportunity for them to show that they were men actuated 

by the highest principle, and that w^hile they could die for the flag they 










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FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861-1865 361 

could never desert it or retreat ig-nominioiisly though the odds were against 
them. At one time the right section was nearly out of ammunition and the 
comrades became the target for the enemy's sharpshooters, but every man 
stood as steady at his post as if on the drill ground. 

The right section of the Connecticut Battery, supported by four 
companies of the 67th Ohio Volunteers, was ordered down a lane in front 
of the Winfree house early in the morning^ and had hardly been placed in 
position by Col. C. J. Dobbs, commanding, before the enemy appeared in 
the front with the three arms of the service. 

The fighting had been furious, the enemy had been ready when 
morning broke to engage the Union force at all points, and a cordon was 
being drawn round them, with the Winfree farm as a centre. Col. Dobbs 
ordered the Battery to open fire, which was so well directed that the 
enemy was staggered, but in a few minutes re-formed in grand style and 
advanced. Col. Dobbs allowed the enemy to approach within easy range, 
when a volley from the entire front and some rapid firing from the section of 
the Battery threw them in confusion and finally in hasty retreat. 

When nearly out of ammunition, the right section moved down the lane 
towards the turnpike, where it was met by Capt. Rockwell, who seeing the 
situation, ordered Lieut. Metcalf to withdraw. Only for the timely arrival 
of the centre and left sections and the infantry support they would have 
been captured. A delay of ten minutes more and the right section would 
have been surrounded and fallen into the hands of the enemy. 

It was necessary that reinforcements should reach the gallant few who 
were holding the position at that point. 

An orderly was dispatched by Col. Abbott, commanding the brigade 
during the temporary retirement of Col. Hawley through illness, to Gen. 
Terry. He arrived, his horse bathed in perspiration and covered with a 
white lather from the speed he had been made to travel. 

The left and centre sections occupied advantageous positions on the 
turnpike towards Petersburg, and "on that early morning," a comrade says, 
" we heard firing that sounded directly in our rear. Some of the boys said 
it sounded like our guns, and while we were speculating about the position 
and sound, an orderly was seen riding down the road, and into the camp at 
a furious gallop. We soon learned that our comrades in the right section 



362 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

were having trouble, and the firing we had heard did come from their 
guns," 

Comrade Marcus M. Hall says that Gen. Terry was sitting on the trail of 
the sixth gun, which was unlimbered and in position pointing toward 
Petersburg, Capt. Rockwell was standing by him when an orderly rode up 
to them at a break-neck speed, perspiration running from his horse in 
streams. The orderly handed Gen. Terry the message from Col. Abbott. 
The General just glanced at it, turned to Capt Rockwell and said: 

"Capt. Rockwell, limber your Battery to the rear." 

The Captain turned away to execute the order, and the orderly told how 
Col. Abbott had been attacked by a very large force, and that it was 
doubtful if he could hold his position. 

"Tell Col. Abbott to hold his position at all hazards," was Gen. Terry's 
reply. 

A few minutes more and other messengers came bearing a similar 
report, and to each the same order was given. 

During this time the infantry was engaged in tearing up the railroad 
track and rolling the rails down the embankment. 

Another messenger arrived and announced that the section of the 
Connecticut Battery was out of ammunition. 

"Unless I receive reinforcements I cannot hold out," was the message 
sent by Col. Abbott. 

Another report came: 

"You have lost your First Connecticut Battery, General." 

" I am afraid so. Hurry up the infantry." 

Comrade Dickinson recalls the events of that morning in this way: 

"After breakfast, we had gone some distance, when we saw an orderly 
coming down the hill in front of us, apparently in a hurry. He saluted and 
informed Capt. Rockwell that Gen. Terry wanted the Battery up the pike. 
So the cannoneers were mounted and the order was given to trot. A little 
way farther on we saw another orderly coming on a run, who again 
informed the Captain that the General wanted him to report with the 
Battery at the earliest possible moment. 'Trot out,' rang the bugle; with 
the horses on a keen run, the drivers swinging their whips, and the 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861-1865 363 

cannoneers bouncing about on the chests, we whirled up to where Gen. 
Terry and his staff were gathered." 

Gen. Terry ordered the 7th New Hampshire Volunteers, 6th Con- 
necticut and the two remaining sections of Rockwell's Battery to the front, 
to reinforce the small force under command of Col. Dobbs. 

"Cannoneers mount gun-carriages; caissons follow; drivers put spur 
and whip to horses — Forward! March!" 

The command had been anxiously awaited, and all were in readiness to 
start when Gen. Terry rode up, and in a clear resonant voice shouted : 

"Battery, boys; if you want to save your other section, you can't get 
there too quick." 

The two sections of the battery went down the turnpike at double quick, 
and arrived at a point on the pike where the 4th New Jersey Battery was 
being attacked by an overwhelming force. Its support, two companies of the 
169th New York, evinced great disorder and confusion, but upon the 
entreaties of Col. Voris, the 4th New Jersey battery gave the enemy a charge 
of canister, and the infantry grew more steady, but afterwards broke and 
fled to the rear, causing the loss of one piece. The arrival of a portion of the 
7th Connecticut Infantry enabled the Jersey battery to resume fire, which it 
continued until the flames of the burning wood on the left became intoler- 
able, and the enemy had gained a distance of 200 yards in rear of the battery 
right flank. The gallant conduct of Lieut. George, in command of the 
Jersey Battery, will ever be remembered. He advanced, and with the aid of 
the 7th Connecticut, recaptured his piece and retired in good order to report. 
About seven o'clock on the morning of the tenth, the 7th New Hamp- 
shire Infantry had been ordered to tear up the track of the railroad near 
Walthall Junction. It was engaged in doing so for about an hour, destroy- 
ing about a third of a mile. An order was then received to march the regi- 
ment by the turnpike northerly. The extreme heat, together with the exer- 
tions the men had already made in destroying the railroad, rendered the 
march very severe. As the regiment advanced, the rapid firing of artillery 
was heard more and more distinctly, indicating that an important engage- 
ment was being fought. On reaching the road running westerly across 
the turnpike to the railroad, at Chester Station, the firing was very near. 



364 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

Gen. Terry ordered the regiment to move forward as quickly as possible, 
and to form line of battle to resist the enemy in that direction. 

The yth New Hampshire Infantry, under command of Lieut. -Col. T. A. 
Henderson, moved forward in obedience to orders, and at about half a mile 
from the turnpike entered a large field on the left, and moved toward 
the Winfree house, beyond which the firing was fiercest. The regiment, by 
order of Col. Abbott, commanding the brigade, formed line of battle, 
with the right in the rear and just beyond the house, the line extending 
back perpendicularly to the house along the garden fence. The enemy not 
appearing in force in front, the line of battle was changed to the front 
of the house, facing north. The enemy was firing from a battery on the left, 
and the regiment not being able to stand the flank fire, was moved to 
the right and then to the rear, where the men were directed to lie down 
behind a slight elevation, which afforded some protection from the enemy's 
artillery fire. 

The two sections of the Connecticut Battery swung round into the 
narrow lane the right section had just left, which crossed the turnpike at a 
pace which seemed to imperil the guns. The lane was narrow, a snake fence 
on either side, a wood on one side, the bushes coming close up to the fence, 
the road full of ruts and holes. As the Battery turned into it, a number of 
the enemy were seen in the wood on the right, but, for some unaccountable 
reason, they did not fire. 

The way in which the centre and left sections of the Connecticut Light 
Battery entered that field at Chester Station was one to arouse the 
enthusiasm of every lover of horsemanship. The turning into an exceed- 
ingly narrow lane from the turnpike road, with six horses and a cumbersome 
gun-carriage, at a swift gallop, was in itself something to be admired, but 
when it was known that behind every tree a rifle was ready to send 
its messenger of death to the heart of the drivers, it becomes more 
wonderful that they could keep their nerves steady enough to make that 
sharp turn at such a speed. 

Along the lane, never once slackening the pace, the horses galloped, over 
ruts and stones, through the bush which had grown up over the side of the 
lane and into a field through a small opening hastily made in a snake 
fence, without an accident, was an achievement which made pride excusable. 








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FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 367 

Into the field, amid a shower of exploding shells and rifle bullets, from 
the sharpshooters, the drivers steered the guns, taking up the positions 
assigned without a hitch, the quickness in getting the guns in place, and the 
rapidity of loading and firing the first shot, proved that the Connecticut 
Battery was the equal of any in the service. 

As the left section was swinging round the centre to get into position, a 
shell from the enemy struck the ground close to the lead horses, landing in 
the midst of a sow and litter of pigs, which had been feeding quite 
unconcernedly, though the shots were falling in every direction like hail. 
The shell sliced off the hind quarters of the sow, and with a most unearthly 
squeal, she fell over, the pigs were scattered in every direction, some 
being thrown in the air, where they described all sorts of evolutions before 
they fell. 

Comrade Sloan, in speaking of that double-quick march through the lane, 
says: " The experience of that day was peculiar, and no two persons would 
tell the same story, as each one had enough to do to carry out his own part 
of the program. I was number three on the third piece, which was the first 
to go down that lane. I lay full length on the gun, my arms round the 
cascable, a comrade on the axle on either side. We could see the enemy in 
the woods on the edge of the lane, and why they allowed any of us to get 
through I never understood. When we arrived at the open field, a comrade 
and myself caught hold of a panel of the snake fence and broke it down, to 
enable our piece to get through. Our piece got into battery not far 
from the lane, and opened with canister into the woods." 

"In a few moments," reports Lieut. -Col. T. A. Henderson, command- 
ing the 7th New Hampshire Volunteers, "the enemy appeared advancing 
on my left, when, by order of Col, Abbott, I returned to the position along 
the line of the garden fence. Tearing down the fence, a slight protection 
was formed from the material, behind which the men were made to 
lie down. Several small outbuildings also afforded concealment and 
shelter from the enemy. For some 150 yards, immediately in front of 
my line, was a slight slope of cultivated ground. Next beyond, for several 
hundred yards, was a large space, considerably broken, and thickly covered 
with stumps. Beyond was a thick wood, in front of which were the enemy's 
skirmishers engaged with our own. Our skirmishers drove those of 



368 



HISTORY AND REMINISENCES. 



the enemy back into the woods, whereupon a regiment of the enemy moved 
out of the woods, driving back our skirmishers, and advancing to within 500 
yards of my line, protecting themselves somewhat by the inequalities of the 
ground and the stumps. They then delivered a tremendous voile)-, doing, 
however, but trifling execution. The volley was promptly returned by my 
regiment, and followed up in a most spirited and determined manner, 
the men accompanying their volleys with cheers of defiance to the enemy. 
The enemy withstood the fire a few moments and retired precipitately to the 
woods. Rockwell's Battery, in my rear, continued all the while firing 
rapidly, and apparently with great execution, into the woods." 

"Our two sections, the centre and left," says Comrade Dickinson, 
" were sent to relieve the right, which had been engaged all the morning, and 
we proceeded to whack the Confederacy in the good old way. It was said 
that we were charged three times, but that I cannot vouch for. The 
Johnnies did get in our rear on the pike and charged up to it, expecting to 
gobble us up with our supports, but the two flanking companies of the 7th 

Connecticut Volunteers, armed with Spencers, 
lined up on the side of the road in the woods and 
^gg^Jl^ft^ stopped their rush most beautifully. It was the 

* »**■ first time those particular Johnnies had met with 

that kind of a gun, and they could not under- 
stand how our fellows could load and fire so fast." 
Early in the engagement. Comrade Ebene- 
zer Wakeley was wounded while going for ammu- 
nition. At the Historian's request. Comrade 
Wakeley tells the story in his own way: 

"I was driving the lead team on the fifth 
caisson. There were three teams, one at the 
wheel, the centre and lead. The fight had been 
proceeding for some time. Reinforcements were 
reaching the eneni}^, some by the railroad from 
Richmond, some by the dirt road, and, as they 
arrived, they came into action and were driving 
in, the troops left to guard the position the day before. But we were 
sending reinforcements as fast as possible. 




EBENEZER WAKELEY, JR. 

Joined Nov. 14, 1861 Re-enlist- 
ed Vet. Dec. 14, 1863. Wounded 
May 10, 1864, at Chester Station. 
Transferred to Co. I, loth Reg't 
V. R C, Jan. p, '65. Discharged 
Aug. II. '65. Treasurer of Chris- 
tian Association during its en- 
tire existence. 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 



369 



"The two sections of our battery drove on ahead. I know we passed 
the 6th Connecticut. I remember as I was on the ground, or dismounted, a 
regiment came right through the woods and up to our side of the Chester 
Station Road. This side of the road where our caissons had rounded to and 
faced towards the railroad had a very good stone fence, but, on the other 
side, it was a hedge fence, with now and then a large tree in or 
about the hedge. To come to the caissons from the guns, quite a de- 
pression in the land was to be crossed, which, with the stone fence, offered 
quite a protection. But, to reach the caisson to get a new chest of ammu- 
nition we were obliged to rise enough for a driver to be exposed. We were 
fairly well exposed while behind the gun, but the shooting was at a distance 
and sliots low, but I alone remained mounted. One of the middle team 
horses had already received a ball in the body, and, I heard, died from the 
wound later, but this horse was being used when I left the field. 

" Our ammunition was exhausted, and the gun team had taken that chest 
back to the caisson, and it had been refilled, and, our chest being exhausted, 
we went back for another filling, and as we arose from a little depression in 
the ground, a skirmish line at the other side of the road begun to pick us off 
and a Minnie bullet struck me. We were going as fast as we could very 
well go, and I fell to the outside and made one 
turn, hoping to escape the wheel. Brown, at 
the wheel team, was sawing away to keep the 
wheels from going over me, and this he did. 

" Comrade Jillson was the Company's bugler, 
but, in that action, he acted as an orderly for 
the General in Command. He came down to 
see what the trouble was, and the wheel team had 
come pretty close to where I was then standing, 
with the orderly asking what had happened 
to me. The driver of the middle team had 
crossed to my place, and this had left the middle 
team without a driver, but somewhat under the c.i,,xtotc- -.r i>i:,^,,>x^ 

rrvANv^lo V, HKOW N, 

control of the drivers of the wheel and lead of Eastoranby. 

Enlisted Oci. 25, 1S61; mustered 

teams. Where this occurred was in the de- i",s'^64;"time1xpiPed''''""^''' ^°'- 




370 



HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 



pression of the land from which we begun to ascend, when the skirm- 
ish line made it so hot for ns. 

" The orderly inquired if I thought I could mount, and, having spunked 
up somewhat, I told him I thought I could and attempted to do so on the 
middle team, but my right arm would not move after I had put my foot in 
the stirrup and had gathered the reins with my left hand, and this disclosed 
to me that I was disabled. 

"As I could not mount, the direction was given me to go back to a tree, 
where I would find a surgeon, and I refused the assistance of two of our 
men as they ran to aid me. The orderly inquired if I needed any assistance, 
but I answered that I did not, and the two men who came from the caissons 
went back to them." 

A most remarkable feat of horsemanship was performed by Comrade 
Daniel F. Scran ton at the time Wakeley was wounded. Comrade Scranton, 

who was on the swing team, crawled forward to the 
lead horse, stepping along the traces and holding 
to the harness. It was one of the most brilliant 
things ever done in horsemanship, on a battlefield, 
for the horses were going at full speed and swing- 
ing around a sharp curve. The change was made 
so rapidly that many never knew how it came that 
Comrade Scranton was on the lead horse. 

After firing a few shots in the woods, the 
centre section ceased firing as the infantry had 
passed the lane on the pike and deploying into 
the wood were in front of the guns. The enemy 
was driven into the lane and quite a number 
captured. 

The centre section took a new position in rear 
of the first and commenced shelling the woods 
and ravines where the enemy seemed to be forming for a charge. 

The left section held the position first occupied, nearly in front of the 
Winfree House. While in this position the enemy charged with a courage 
and daring which proved their valor. 

The enemy reappeared from the woods beyond in largely increased 




daxiii;l f. scranton, 

of Guilford. 
Enlisted 3rd Connecticut Vol- 
unteers, April 24, '61 ; mustered 
inMayii '61; mustered out Aug. 
12, '61; enlisted First Light Bat- 
tery, Nov. 6, '61; mustered in Nov. 
14, V.i ; discharged Nov. 13, '64 ; 
time expired. 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861-1865 



373 



force, displaying- five stand of colors in front of the Union line and two on 
the right, advancing in splendid order. They charged through the ravine 
and up the hill towards the house, until they were almost within musket 
range, and then they gave utterance to that famous '• Rebel Yell," which 
was blood-curdling to all who heard it. They rushed forward, when again 

"There rose so wild a yell. 

As all the fiends from heaven that fell 

Had pealed the banner cry of hell." 
But before they reached the top of the hill they were met by a murderous 
fire from all sides, the Connecticut Light Battery firingcanister. No living thing 
could face that rattling shower of ball andshell which poured upon them. They 
fell to the ground, they crept away, they hushed their yell of battle as they 
broke ranks and sought cover in the woods. 

The excitement was intense. Grape and canister fly into the ranks, 
shells burst overhead and fragments fly all around. Men fall in every 

direction. 

Three times the enemy, advancing over the brow of the hill into 
the ravine and up the hill again to close range, charged with impetuous fury, 
but only to be driven back by the accurate and rapid firing of the Connecti- 
cut Battery and the gallant resistance of the infantry supports. 

It was a baptism of fire for the Battery, 
which completely overshadowed Secessionville. 

It was in one of these charges that Comrade 
Marcus M. Hall was wounded. 

While serving ammunition he received two 
rifle balls in rapid succession, in the left fore- 
arm, one of the bones being badly broken. The 
enemy seemed to have his range, for the bullets 
fell thick and fast on all sides of him, the sharp- 
shooters apparently taking him as a mark. A 
horse, by his side, was killed, immediately before 
the bullets struck him. 

The shells had set fire to the forest, and the 
blaze lit up the scene far and wide. The enemy's 
dead and wounded lay scattered all through the 




MARCUS M. HALL, 
of Guilford. 
Knlisted October 6, iSoi: mus- 
tered in Noveinber2,iS6i: wound- 
ed at Chester Station May lo, 
1864; discharged November 2, 
!S64; time expired. 



374 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

woods, and in many instances, the fire was burning them to a cinder. 
The cries of these poor wretches could be heard by some of the regiments 
near the edge of the wood, but nothing could be done. 

At one time during the engagement the Confederate sharpshooters 
advanced to the Winfree House, and under its cover, attempted to pick off 
the "men behind the guns." The Battery turned their pieces on the house, 
knocked down the chimney, making the bricks and splinters and the sharp- 
shooters fly in every direction. 

The fighting was again general, the whole force on either side being 
engaged. Capt. Rockwell had the guns under cover of the rolling ground, 
which greatly assisted in protecting the Battery from the Confederate 
infantry. The Minnie balls were flying in every direction, and at times 
it seemed almost miraculous why so few men were shot. 

Capt. Rockwell says: "On the morning of May loth we were ordered 
back over the 'pike' toward the point where the right section had been 
detached and were proceeding leisurely, when, either in obedience to orders 
or because we heard Metcalf's heavy firing, we went as rapidly as possible 
and arrived just in time to assist in saving the position. 

"We found that the right section had done excellent service and 
contributed their full share in repelling that morning, the enemy's attack 
and holding the position till the reinforcements came up, but they had very 
little ammunition left when the other two sections reached that point. I 
ordered Metcalf to withdraw and refill his chests, and then turned the two 
sections into an open field on the left of that cross-road. We took position 
upon rising ground and opened at once on a field battery, which was firing 
from a low hill across the lower ground between. 

"There was a small farm house a short distance in front of us and just 
in front of that was our line of battle of infantry, an Illinois regiment, I 
believe. We fired over them safely enough as they were on lower ground. 
Our position was hazardous, if the infantry had fallen back, for there was 
no road out other than the one by which we had entered the field, and that 
road was our line of battle at that point. I find in a letter written on May 
loth, 1864, the words: 'At one time I feared my battery would be taken,' 
and also that 'our loss (Battery) is four men wounded and two horses 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861-1865 375 

killed,' and that ' the men did behave admirably and to the satisfaction of 
the General commanding.' 

"One man (Marcus M. Hall) was wounded in the wrist or forearm, as he 
was serving ammunition from the limber, by a musket ball which passed 
through the side of the ammunition box just below the lid, I was sitting on 
my horse close by him and saw the shot." 

This very excellent reminiscent account of the doings of the Batterv at 
Chester Station, free from the formality of an official report, is a valuable 
addition to the History, and is another proof of the efficiency and thorough- 
ness of Capt. Rockwell, as well as his interest in the Battery which he once 
commanded. 

An amusing incident occurred during the engagement. Comrade 
Blatchley, better known as ' ' Sod, " was Number One on one of the left pieces, 
when a cannon ball, shell or bullet, he never knew which it was, gave his 
massive frame a severe shock and a close call for his life. He ran up to 
Comrade Mark Hall, who was handing out the ammunition, when "Sod" 
exclaimed: 

" Damn 'em, they've got me. I've got a piece of shell in me as big as 
your fist. Damn 'em, our guns are not half big enough. We oughter have 
bigger guns." " Sod" started to the rear, clasping his hands over his heart 
and stomach. As he passed Comrade Griswold, he exclaimed: 

" Good bye, Ed. Old Sod is a goner this time." 

He was met by Comrade Sloan, who, from "Sod's" action, expected 
to see him disemboweled, and asked what was the matter. 

"I've got a ball right through me," he answered. 

" Put down your hands and let me see the woimd." 

"No, no, I can't do that; I'd bleed to death." 

Comrade Sloan carefully and gently removed the big fellow's hands and 
made an examination. No hole in his clothes, no blood, no wound was 
found, but a deep red circle over Sod's heart showed that he had been hit 
by a spent ball that had bruised his skin without penetrating the flesh, 
causing a sharp stinging pain. " Sod " met Lieut. Clinton and told him that 
he was wounded, and as he held the lieutenant's horse, he said he felt 
as though "puking would make him feel better." He had no sooner said 
so than he did vomit, and it had the desired effect. The shock had 



376 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

doubtless made him feel a similar sensation to sea-sickness for a minute. 
When he was convinced that he was not about to die, he sprang to his feet 
and returned to his post as fast as his long legs could carry him. The spent 
bullet had entered his sleeve, going through two thicknesses, and, being 
turned out of its course, struck him over the heart, leaving the circular 
mark on his flesh just like an impression of the bottom of a bullet. " Sod " 
carried the mark of that bullet through the remainder of his life, and often 
bared his chest to show it to his comrades. 

Comrade Griswold says that, at the time "Sod" was wounded, "the 
battle was raging fearfully on all sides of us, and especially was the fighting 
desperate on the pike. We were anxious that our force should not weaken 
there, and we believed from wdiat we could hear that they were holding the 
ground. The Confederates were now seen forming in large numbers in the 
woods on our front, preparing to charge the Battery. We gave them 
spherical case as rapidly as we could send them, and we knew it was doing its 
deadly work. Still they continued to form and were soon seen moving, and 
we realized that more lively work was before us. Our noble support 
had suffered severely, but we had learned that they were made of the right 
material and would stay with us. On came the enemy out of the woods, 
over the rail fence into the open field, in splendid order and large numbers. 
Now came the charge and the never-to-be-forgotten rebel yell; up the hill 
they came, and as soon as they were near enough our four guns opened fire 
upon them with double-shotted canister, and never did guns fire more 
rapidly; still onward came the enemy, closing up the fearful gaps made by 
our canister — still they come almost up to the muzzles of our guns, when 
their line breaks and back they go— no mortal man could continue to 
face such a storm of canister — back down the hill and into the woods they 
go. Again they form, and again the fearful rebel yell, as up the hill they 
come, almost as far as they came before, when they again break and retire; 
they then attempt the charge the third time, but only get a part of the 
distance when they retire and the firing and fighting seems to lessen." 

The comrades were cool and deliberate, and watched the effect of their 
firing as calmly as though at target practice. The shower of bursting shells, 
the passage of solid shot as they rake their murderous channels through the 
ranks, the plunging of wounded horses, the agonies of the dying, the clash 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861-1865 377 

of contending arms, which follow the dashing- charge of the brave 
Confederates, all appear to the men of the Connecticut Battery as so much 
incentive to cool action. 

No fear causes a tremble, and yet those very comrades would have been 
almost overcome with anguish had they seen a fellow-creature mangled in 
the streets of New Haven. The fever of the battlefield is in their blood, 
they never think of the consequences, but stand and fire as regularly and as 
coolly as on the drill ground, though they know that their shells and shots 
are tearing great gaps in the ranks of the charging enemy. 

The very guns seemed like things of life as 

"Scorching hot, from their grinning jaws, 

With a shout, 
Came the whirling shot 
And the bursting shell, 
And the air grew gray 

With the drifting smoke, 

That quivered and broke 
And heaved and fell, 

When the roar burst out. 
And Death rode over the battlefield, 

Through the storm, 
Like the withering breath of a curse; 
And his voice rang out. 
With a shrill report, 

When the rifles flashed 

And the bayonets gashed 
The quivering heart. 

And the knife struck home. 
And many a brave boy fell when the fire of the guns 

Burst out. 
Yet they hurled the foe heavily back, 
In the fierce, wild fight, 
And the victory was won ; 

But the dead lay white 

In the ghastly light, 
As the sinking sun 

Looked down on the rout." 



378 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

At one time the yth New Hampshire, in supporting, took cover behind 
the snake fence, the battery firing over them. An officer asked if it would 
not be possible to silence the enemy's battery, which was causing so much 
trouble. Comrade Samuel Scranton, taking the smoke as a target, after two 
or three trials, succeeded in dismounting one of the enemy's guns, causing 
the battery to retire. The 7th New Hampshire at once turned and cheered 
for the excellent marksmanship of Comrade Scranton. 

Comrade Griswold thus describes the sad scene at the end of the day's 
hard fighting: 

" The cheering for victory is over and then comes the sad part. The 
regiments fall in line and have a roll call; some companies are without 
officers, and all have lost heavily. How still and sad it seems now, even 
with victory won, as company after company reported as follows: 

"'Company , Regiment, went into action with- number of offi- 
cers, number of men and officers accounted for. ' 

" Well do I remember the report made by a corporal, when he marched 
up his small squad and made his report as follows: 

" 'Company , 67th Ohio, went into action with sixty-four men and 

officers, only sixteen men and one corporal accounted for.' 

"After resting awhile, we again fallback and cross the pike — what 
a sight on that road where the battle raged! — the ground covered with the 
dead and wounded. Many of Connecticut's boys fell here. Soon a flag of 
truce was sent in by the Confederate General commanding, asking for as- 
sistance to get his wounded from the burning woods, which the shells from 
our battery had set on fire. Those who have ever heard the roar of fire in 
pine woods will know that it equals thunder. Gen. Foster was sent out 
with assistants, and all the stretchers that could be spared were taken 
with them. When Gen. Foster returned, he rode up to the Battery and 

said : 

"'Boys, the ground was almost covered with the dead and wounded 

where your shells had set fire to the woods. I was in the Mexican 

war, have seen many sad sights, but God forbid that I shall ever again see 

and hear the like of what I have to-day; such screeching and begging 

as those poor fellows made as the fire rolled up to them, for it was 

impossible to save all.' " 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 379 

The Battery had a narrow escape on that day, for at one time it 
was practically surrounded, the enemy occupying three sides of the 
field, the fourth side being a marsh, through which it would have been 
impossible to get the guns. The magnificent courage of the infantry 
supporting, and the steadiness and determination of the Battery, snatched 
victory from what seemed certain disaster. Every regiment engaged 
behaved splendidly, and all acknowledged that the First Connecticut Light 
Battery was a credit to the country and deserving of all honor. 

Comrade Hall tells his experience of the treatment he received both at 
the front and in hospital, in a manner which makes interesting reading. 

"I was ordered to the rear, and after reaching the turnpike, was sent 
by ambulance to Gen. Wild's headquarters. From there a most comfort- 
able hospital steamer took several hundred sick and wounded down the 
James to Fort Monroe. The hospital wards, there, were full to overflow- 
ing, with stretcher cases, others less seriously hurt were camped in small tents 
outside, with a bundle of straw for a bed. When my arm was first dressed 
the sleeve of my blouse was ripped in the seam to get it ofT, and eight holes 
were found in it, each ball having made two holes when passing through; 
two balls had gone through the sleeve near my shoulder, merely scratching 
the skin. I wanted to keep that blouse as a relic, worth saving to show my 
children and grandchildren, so I gave it to a colored woman to clean and 
repair, but with strict orders, however, in no case to meddle with the holes. 
In due time the garment was returned to me with every hole so nicely 
darned that it was almost impossible to locate them. 

"After ten days I was transferred to Mower Hospital, Chestnut Hill, 
Philadelphia, which was said to be the largest and best regulated hospital in 
the world, and I could easily believe that assertion, for I could not see how 
it could have been improved. All that medical skill and tender, intelligent 
nursing could accomplish was bestowed upon the serious cases; the conva- 
lescent enjoyed a library containing 2000 volumes, loaned by the city;, 
schools were established for the study of the common branches of an 
English education ; singing classes and religious meetings were held several 
evenings each week. A beautiful grove, of ample dimensions, was open to 
all, and fitted up with swings, bowling alleys and other means of healthful 
exercise. 



380 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

"I desire to bear witness to the patriotism of the Philadelphians; the 
soldiers found it very truly a 'City of Brotherly Love.' Nothing was 
too good for the soldier. 

"When we landed at the river front, we were taken in charge by richly 
dressed ladies, apparently the r/zV^ of the city, and were carried to the depot 
in the princely fire ambulances then in vogue. Wounded, dirty, war- 
begrimed men were handled as carefully as infants, and every comfort 
anticipated and supplied until we were each assigned a place in the hospital. 
To illustrate the sentiment manifested toward soldiers, I recall that in going 
to a barber's to get a shave, no matter how many were waiting their turn, 
the soldier was made to take the first chair vacated ; the soldiers were the 
aristocracy of the people in that city. Thousands of old soldiers will 
remember the ' Quaker City ' with the kindest feelings and with pride and 
gratitude. 

"While at this hospital I became acquainted with an inmate, whose 
experience was interesting. He had been buried, or partially so, it being 
believed that he was dead. After one of the bloody battles of the Wilder- 
ness, the dead were collected for burial, a long trench was dug, six 
feet wide, and the bodies placed in it side by side, my acquaintance among 
the rest, the trench was being filled, and he was covered, with the exception 
of his head and shoulders. One of the fatigue party had paused in his 
work, for a moment, and noticed some slight muscular action in the man's 
neck. He called the attention of others to it and the man was taken out, 
revived and eventually got well. He had been struck by a piece of spent 
shell on the side of the head, making an ugly-looking, but superficial 
wound, which made him unconscious. When I met him he was ward- 
master at Mower Hospital, the jolliest of all jolly men, but minus one ear. 

"Most old soldiers can tell stories of the freaks played by shot and 
shell. An instance of an apparently impossible freak came under my 
observation while at the hospital. One day I noticed a number of the boys 
gathered round one who seemed to be causing considerable merriment. On 
approaching to learn the cause of the mirth, I saw this central figure, with 
what seemed to be a small grape-shot, between his finger and thumb, which 
he was holding up for exhibition while his mouth was stretched wide open. 
He could barely pass the shot into his mouth without touching his teeth; yet 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861-1865 381 

this missile had, in action, actually passed between his teeth without 
breaking one, up through the roof of the mouth and out by the side of his 
nose. The suggestions offered as to his possible position when he was 
struck by the shot was the cause of the fun. 

"At Mower Hospital I was granted a thirty day furlough, and I went 
home on a visit that was very enjoyable. When my furlough expired I 
went before Dr. Jewett, of the Knights Hospital, New Haven, to get 
my furlough extended. He refused my application. I then went to Gov. 
Buckingham and told him that, as I was unfit for military duty, I might as 
well be at home as in Philadelphia. He did not like, he said, to 'interfere 
with the military authorities,' but he secured my transfer to New Haven. 
At the New Haven Hospital I was assigned to Ward No. 6., of which, to my 
surprise and pleasure, our own comrade Corp. Warren Bissell was in charge. 
From this time to the end of my service the hospital was little more than a 
visiting place. We had roll call three times a day, at which times every 
man was supposed to be in, or standing at ' attention,' by his bed. But 
Comrade Bissell very kindly arranged that if I was present on Sunday 
morning for inspection, he would see that the roll call was attended to. At 
this time and up to the time T was honorably discharged, my time having 
expired, I had an open wound in my arm, yet I enjoyed myself very much. 
There was one thing which diminished my happiness — I wanted to be back 
with the Battery and to enter Richmond, for I did so much wish to be in at 
the death, but that pleasure was denied me." 

Comrade Ebenezer Wakeley tells his hospital experience very graphi- 
cally. He says that when he sent the men back to the caissons and told the 
orderly that he did not need any assistance, he looked in vain for the sur- 
geon or the green sash which was to mark the surgeon's post. He continues; 
"I turned then towards the turnpike, and men wounded were met in the 
field and woods I passed through. I heard that these woods were burned 
later on in the day by fire caused by the action then proceeding. There 
was some skulking in these woods, and I heard officers on horseback 
directing men to go forward, and I inferred, in one or two cases, that they 
were in no hurry themselves. I reached the Richmond and Petersburg 
turnpike in time, and not very far from the road that turned into Chester 
Station. Here, on this road, was an ambulance corps filling up as the 



382 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

wounded came to the ambulance. I got right in. When loaded, I was 
taken to the hospital established some miles nearer to Petersburg the day 
before when fighting was to the left and near Petersburg. 

"The fighting had become so sharp on the left up around Chester Station 
that all the troops in the direction of Petersburg were ordered to the right 
of rear, and the hospital was ordered abandoned soon after I arrived, and 
before my wound was dressed. I, with many others of the freshly wounded, 
were told to remain there or to follow the ambulance train. There were 
some of the 6th Connecticut band at this hospital acting as nurses and 
assistants. Two of them from Bridgeport, Connecticut. They met me 
after I had gone awhile and had dropped down, not able to keep up with the 
ambulance wagons. They helped me for two or three miles, as the case 
might be, to the regular General Hospital of the i8th Army Corps. This 
hospital was at a plantation named Point of Rock, not far from the James 
River. 

"For a long distance, on the way to this hospital, I thought I would 
never be able to take another step when I had finished the one I was taking. 
I became so weak from loss of blood, and continued exertion, that it was 
with the utmost effort of the two men and all of my remaining will and 
endurance that I finally arrived at the General Hospital of the i8th Corps. 
Here, after one or two had come off the table, I went on it and had 
my wound dressed, and was given a stimulant and sent out into the door- 
yard, where, perhaps, there were two hundred Confederates and Union 
soldiers. 

"During the day Comrade Evarts came with my blankets and haver- 
sack, and told me of the fact that our troops had returned to the River 
Encampment, or to the position held on the morning of May 9th, 1864. 

"On the night of the 12th, or morning of the 13th of that May, an ambu- 
lance took me to the landing, and I went on the 'Hero of Jersey,' was 
carried down the river and taken to the Hampton Roads Hospital. Here 
the wounded were in hundreds, if not thousands. 

"From this hospital there was a further distribution to the North, as men 
were able to be removed. On the 21st of May I was transferred to the 
'City of Richmond,' and on the 23d of May, 1864, arrived in New York 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 383 

City, and was sent to the Central Park Hospital, not far from Harlem, or 
iioth street. This was a Catholic building-, leased to the Government for 
hospital purposes. Here, at this hospital, the top wound, or place where 
the Minnie ball came out of my shoulder, suffered the aftliction of gangrene. 
There was a tent, number nine for such patients. Here I was operate I on, 
and being spare and thin of flesh, the disease was checked before it reached 
the lower wound, or where the rifle ball first penetrated my right shoulder. 
This first wound was close to the main artery, and this disease located in that 
wound would have siirely taken me off. I was in tent nine from June loth 
until June 29th, 1864. After the last date, came back to the ward from 
which I was taken. I was in this hospital on July 4, 1864. I find an entry 
in my Journal of that date saying, ' My thoughts go back to one year ago 
to-day to the dinner we had in Beaufort.' I was referring to that famous 
4th of July dinner we had in that South Carolina town. 

"On July 14th, 1864, was transported from the Central Park Hospital, 
and on the 15th was in the 'Knights' Hospital' at New Haven. I see by 
my Journal that there, on July 15th, I met ' Mark Hall and George Bissell.' 
On the i6th I noted down that I had 'seen Warren Bissell.' I presume 
he was in the hospital at New Haven too. Here I remained until, say, the 
last of January, 1865, when I was sent into the invalid corps, and went from 
New Haven to Elmira, New York State. I remained in invalid corps until 
I was fully discharged from the service, on or about August nth, 1865, at 
Buffalo. 

"On the 4th of July, 1865, at Fort Porter, Buffalo, New York State, to 
which place my compan)' in the 19th Regiment Veteran Reserve Corps had 
been transferred from Elmira, I met with an accident that nearly ended my 
existence. The war being over, there was vast rejoicing and great 
celebration of the 4th. I was detailed, with others, to take the old (there 
were two such) Howitzer guns standing in the park there, and fire the 
meridian salute. Because of my right arm, I acted as number three and 
thumbed the vent, but perceived that number one (from an infantry regi- 
ment) knew nothing about loading a cannon. I volunteered and took his 
place and gave him the vent. The second discharge went off prematurely, 
and destroyed the ramrod I was holding and tore off the sleeve of my 
blouse of the right arm, and filled that hand with powder and mightily jarred 



384 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

the right side of my head, and I was thrown around like a top, coming- to the 
ground after one or two turns about. This put me in the local hospital a 
short time. It was a poor time to be killed or wounded, after the war was 
over, I was so well drilled as a number one (cannoneer who loads the gun 
in a battery being number one) as to save the exposure that would, to a 
man tmfamiliar with the way to do it, be sure death." 

That night after the Battery had retired behind the intrenchments, one 
of the comrades had a startling experience. 

It was a dark night. Not a star on the glimmer, the rain fell in driz- 
zling unpleasantness, making the soldiers feel exceedingly uncomfortable. 
There was considerable excitement in the camp, for it was believed that on 
the morrow a decisive battle might be fought. Comrades wrote letters 
home it might be their last chance — they arranged for the disposal of their 
belongings, and then, with one last thought of the world, the majorit)^ 
sought consolation in prayer, and retired to what rest they could obtain. 

In the headquarters of Gen. Gillmore stood a man coldly cynical and 
self-possessed. He was the bearer of dispatches of great importance to the 
General commanding the loth Army Corps. 

Gen. Gillmore read the dispatches and raised his eyes suddenly to the 
face of the courier. Did he expect a tremor, or a sign of confusion? If so, 
he was disappointed. 

But why should the General look so searchingly at the courier? 

What was there in those despatches which should make him gaze into 
the clear eyes of the man who had ridden hard to carry them? 

"Do you know the contents of these dispatches?" he asked. 

"No, General; I was bidden to deliver them and take back an answer 
from you. " 

"You can wait. I shall have a dispatch ready for you in a few 
minutes." 

Gillmore's voice was not very reassuring. To the courier there was 
something in it which did not seem altogether pleasant. It may have been 
a guilty conscience which caused him to feel so strange. 

Gen. Gillmore looked searchingly at him, and the courier knew then that 
he was doubted; he realized that he would have to make explanations, and in 
his mind he saw the tribunal before whom he must answer, he heard the 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861-1865 385 

decision, he must die as a spy; quickly before his mental eye he saw him- 
self seated on his coffin and being carried to the place of execution ; the 
scene changed, and he was the centre figure of a hollow square, with a 
gallows erected above him, the noose of the deadly rope ready to encircle 
his neck. 

All this passed in rapid review before his mind in that instant while 
Gillmore was looking at him, 

"Why should I fall into the trap?" he asked himself. Life was sweet, 
he was young, he loved the cause to which he had devoted his life, but he 
believed he could serve it better by living than by an ignominious death. 

Outwardly he was cool, he smiled as the General looked at him, and, 
without a tremor in his voice, he said he would wait for the dispatch he 
was to carry back to Maj.-Gen. Butler. But as he spoke he backed very 
cautiously towards the door, and seizing his opportunity, rushed out, 
jumped upon the back of a horse standing outside, and hke a flash of 
lightning across the summer sky, rode across country. It was a ride 
fol liberty, for life, and the horse was a good one, for it belonged to one of 
the General's staff, and was noted for its speed. 

" Stop, spy! " 

The cry rung in his ears. He knew that his surmise had been correct. 
He must never fall into the hands of the Unionists. He struck the spurs 
into the sides of the horse, and it seemed to him that not even the wind 
could be faster. 

He did not know which way to go. In the darkness of the night, with 
the keen sense of danger nerving him, he rode on, trusting to chance to 
extricate him from his peril. He knew he was followed, he knew that he 
would be pursued, and that only a few minutes were his in which to escape. 

Fortune seemed to favor him for a time, for he lost the sound of the 
pursuers and breathed more freely. 

Comrade William Fowler was feeling nervous and could not sleep; he 
adopted his usual remedy for insomnia, a short sharp walk. He rambled 
around the outskirts of the camp, keeping within the lines, and thinking of 
home and the chances of a battle on the morrow. His sharp ears cauoht 
the cry: "Stop, spy!" He listened and again heard it, but soon all 
sound died away, and he wondered if the poor fellow had been captured. 



386 



HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 




WlLLIA^sI U. FUWLER, 
of Milford. 
Enlisted Oct. 20, 1861; mustered 
in Nov. 2, 1861; discharged Nov. 
2, 1S64; time expired. 



Chancing- to look up, he caught the glimpse of a horse, apparently rider- 
less, coming down the hill, directly towards the camp which was not far from 

headquarters. The little glimmer of light, to 

which Fowler had become accustomed by his 

^^--^ wandering, revealed the horse, but no man on its 

■■ ^;> cap back. The cry, "Stop, spy," seemed as though 

*-. "^ it again sounded in his ears, and he at once thought 

the spy was on that horse, lying low, so that he 

might not be seen. 

Comrade Fowler was wearing his belt, from 
which hung a leather holster, containing a heavy 
Navy revolver ; the holster flap fastened over the 
pistol grip by a small brass stud, which was 
riveted on the inside over a washer. When Fow- 
ler attempted to draw the revolver, quickly in 
his excitement, the cylinder caught on the rivet, 
and he was unable to draw the weapon. He had 
carried that revolver for two years, and this was the first time he had ever 
needed to use it on an enemy, and at this critical moment it did seem like 
a strange misfortune that the pistol should stick fast. There was no time 
to fumble at the holster, and the comrade made up his mind that the spy 
would escape, for the horse and the rider were rushing towards him, and 
he was unseen by the spy. Just as Fowler realized that he must step 
aside or be run down, the horse jumped a ditch and, stumbling, threw its 
rider at Fowler's feet. He instantly jumped on his chest and grabbed him 
by the throat; in the haste of getting a quick and firm hold, Comrade 
Fowler used the hand with a stiff finger, which causing him great pain, 
by bemg bent under, prevented him holding the man securely. The two 
struggled in the grass for a few moments, without either getting the 
advantage. It was a desperate struggle for life, for if the spy got the 
advantage it meant death to Fowler, and if he failed the man knew that he 
would be shot, or hanged, as a spy. 

The spy came very near getting away, but Fowler took great chances and 
changed his hand, getting a firm grasp of the man's throat with his sound 
hand. He could have strangled him as easily as not, and the spy knew it. 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 387 

"It's all a mistake," the spy exclaimed, "I'm no spy, but a courier. I 
have just been to headquarters, and the General bade me wait." 

" Did you wait?" Fowler asked. 

"I delivered my messages, and my commander told me not to wait for 
anything-, so I jumped on the first horse I could find; it is not mine, I know, 
mine is at the headquarters." 

Not for one instant did Comrade Fowler relinquish his grip on his 
captive. Like grim death he held on, and it was a wonder that he did not 
squeeze out the life of the unfortunate spy. He got his fingers inside the 
collar of the man's uniform and pressed his knuckles into his throat until he 
shouted for mercy. 

Gasping for breath, yet realizing that unless he could escape death 
would be his lot, he managed to persuade the Union soldier to ease his grip 
a little. The man had told a plausible story, which might be true, that was 
not for Comrade Fowler to determine, so he slightly relaxed his grasp, and told 
the man that he would take him to the guard tent, and if his story were true 
he would be detained only long enough to get a message to Gen. Gillmore. 

" If you are a spy," continued Fowler, " you will probably be shot," 

The corporal of the guard. Comrade John Mervvin, heard the scuffling 
and hurried to see what it was about. Fowler explained the situation, and 
between them they took the man to the guard tent. 

It was generally believed that the man was proved to be a spy, and that 
he was tried and executed. He was a brave man, but he had taken the 
chances, knowing the penalty of failure. 

Comrade Fowler was congratulated by his fellow Battery Boys for his 
bravery; and yet there are times when Fowler's kind heart aches at the 
thought that he might have been the means of sending a courageous man to 
an ignominous death. 

Capt. Rockwell's report of the battle was as follows: 

Report of Capt. Alfred P. Rockwell, First Connecticut Light Battery, 
of operations May 9-10, 1S64. 

Headquarters First Connecticut Light Battery, 
Sir: May ii, 1S64. 

I have the honor to submit, for the information of the Brigadier- 



388 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

General commanding, the following report of the operations of the First 
Connecticut Light Battery during the 9th and loth instants. 

In obedience'to the orders of the General commanding, the Battery was 
hitched up at 4 a. m. May 9, and moved forward in the place assigned it in 
the column of march immediately in the rear of the First Brigade 
First Division, until we reached the Richmond and Petersburg turnpike 
road. At this point I detached the right section, under Lieut. George Met- 
calf, to take position upon this road about three-fourths of a mile from 
the cross roads. About 1 1 o'clock I moved these two sections of the battery 
down the turnpike towards Petersburg, to the point where it crosses the 
railway, and there halted. During the night the guns were posted in 
the road at the point commanding the road and the railway. The following 
morning the Battery was ordered to move back along the turnpike, and 
aboiit 9 a. m. it commenced moving in the rear of the Second Brigade. As 
we approached the cross-roads, rapid firing was heard near the position 
in which my section was posted the day before. In obedience to the orders of 
the General commanding, I at once took the four guns with me — rapidly for- 
ward to the cross-roads and up that road to the left, a few hundred yards, into 
the open field, where Lieut. Metcalf with his section had for some time been 
actively engaged with the enemy. Finding him nearly out of ammunition, 
I ordered him to fall back to the turnpike and immediately came in battery 
in the field and opened on the enemy, who were firing slowly from a battery 
of i2-pounders. The enemy appeared to have at least six guns, in detached 
sections, one section posted about 800 yards in my front, commanding the 
narrow cross-road, and the other two sections, giving me a cross-fire from 
the right, and also down the turnpike. The section in my immediate front 
twice ceased firing and changed position, whether or not forced to do so by 
the fire of my guns I cannot say. Soon after the guns were in position, 
firing commenced between our skirmishers and the enemy, and increased. 
He twice charged from our left front and endeavored to carry the position, 
but was gallantly repulsed by my infantry support. I would take this 
occasion to express my appreciation of their efficient support. The enemy 
pressed hard upon our right, but were there repulsed also. When his 
fire ceased, I fired slowly until the order came to retire gradually, when I 
fell back to anew position, and remained there until the infantry were ready 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861-1865 389 

to retire; then I withdrew the Battery slowly down the road to the turnpike 
and took a new position with one section in the road on the left of Gibbs' 
Battery. The Battery was in the field from an hour and a half to two hours, 
the greater part of the time under the fire of artillery and musketry more or 
less severe. In the latter part of the afternoon I moved back to camp 
within the intrenchments, as ordered by Gen. Terry. The right section was 
detached and under the command of Lieut. Metcalf during the greater part 
of two days. He reports that he remained in position on the turnpike, 
about one mile from the cross-roads, till 5.30 p. m., 9th instant. About four 
o'clock the enemy with fire of musketry and artillery drove in the 
colored cavalry at the front, which fell back in disorder down the road into 
the low ground in advance of the section, and soon afterward went to 
the rear. He immediately opened upon the enemy, checked their advance, 
and kept up a rapid and steady fire till their artillery ceased firing; then 
learning that they were endeavoring to turn the left flank and cut off his 
retreat, he fell slowly back about a quarter of a mile, and subsequently took 
up a position about 200 yards to the rear of the cross-roads, where he 
remained undisturbed. 

At 6:30 a.m. Col. Voris ordered him up the cross-roads to the left, 
which position he held, keeping the enemy in check by a rapid fire at in- 
tervals till I relieved him with the two other sections. He then withdrew to the 
turnpike, as I ordered, and reported to Capt. Langdon on the right, and was 
immediately ordered by Col. Howell into a position near Ware Bottom Church, 
where he remained until evening, when he was ordered back to camp. 

I desire to call attention to the courage and good conduct of my 
Lieutenants — Metcalf, Clinton, Bliss and Smith, and to the excellent behavior 
under fire of the non-commissioned officers and most of the men of my 
command. Where so many did their duty, it is difficult to give preference to 
any one. My loss was three wounded. Herewith I give a full list as 
required. I had also two horses killed. 

I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

Alfred P. Rockwell, 
Captain, Commanding First Connecticut Light Battery. 
Capt. Adrian Terry, 

Asst. Adjt.-Gen, First Div. , loth Army Corps. 



CHAPTER XX. 



ON THE RICHMOND AND PETERSBURG PIKE. 




ENERAL GILLMORE, from his headquarters at "the 
junction of old and new pikes, near railroad," at 2:40 
p. m., on May loth, 1864, reported to Major-General 
Butler: " General Terry is at the same place, on the 
new pike, next the railroad. The fighting has been 
very severe." An hour later he sent word that 
"General Terry has pushed the enemy up the pike, 
and holds the ground the enemy held this morning." 
Then came the report that the enemy was mass- 
ing in the direction of Drewry's Bluff, and the order 
was given to the Tenth Army Corps to retire. 

Headquarters Tenth Army Corps, 

In the Field, May 10, 1864, 4:20 p. m. 
Brigadier-General Terry, Commanding First Division: 

You will retire with your command to your old position within the 
intrenchments, ordering back such parts of Ames' division and the Eight- 
eenth Corps as may have been sent to your support. Leave no wounded, 
sick, or stragglers of either command behind, and retire slowly. 
By command of Major-General Gillmore. 

Ed. W. Smith, 

Assistant Adjutant-General. 
And later the following order was received by General Terry: 
Headquarters Tenth Army Corps, 

May 10, 1864, 9 p. m. 
Brigadier-General Terry: 

Major-General Gillmore wishes you to bring all your troops within 

the defenses to-night, commencing immediately. You will leave your picket 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 391 

line as it was, and has been, before we started yesterday morning. Yot: 
will notify all detatchments in your front — not of this command — of your 
withdrawal. 

I am. General, very truly, &c., 
R. S. Foster, 
Brigadier-General and Chief of Sta]f. 

The order to fall back was not liked by the comrades. It looked loo 
much like a defeat. One of them wrote on May ii, 1864: 

"Well the enemy got the pike after all, and they are pouring over the 
road all day. Why didn't we throw up breastworks across the road at the 
junction of the railroad, and mass every available light battery there, and 
along down each flank, and hold it until all was blue ? We had ample time 
to fortify, instead the troops were throwing up breastworks below, so far 
from the pike that we now have poor consolation of hearing the enemy 
tramping their forces from Petersburg to Richmond, unmolested, and we 
are here sucking our fingers. " 

This extract from a comrade's diary shows how easy it is to criticise, but 
it also proves that the comrades were intelligent, reasoning men, with logi- 
cal minds. 

The enemy was just as much surprised at the falling back, for Maj.- 
Gen. R. F. Hoke reported to Gen. Braxton Bragg, at Richmond: "The 
enemy have retreated upon Bermuda Hundred, either with the intention of 
leaving or crossing the James River. They have shown very little 
disposition to fight. The railroad to Petersburg is clear and can easily 
be repaired." 

Maj.-Gen. R. Ransom, Jr., reported: " The enemy fell back from their 
position toward the James River, apparently in some haste. Lieut. -Col. 
Haskell reports the turnpike open to Petersburg." 

Brig. -Gen. Seth M. Barton, who commanded a Confederate brigade at 
Chester Station, was relieved from his command, and many of his men 
accused of cowardice, which might have been taken advantage of by the 
Union forces. Gen. Ransom, speaking of Barton's brigade, says: 

" My own observation, and that of my staff and other gentlemen who 
were with me, will prove, beyond cavil, that large numbers ran from the field 
and could not be checked. I have stated that the regiment and a half on the 



392 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

left of the turnpike were forced across the turnpike to the right. I am 
satisfied that much the larger portion ran directly from the field." 

Gen. Beauregard expressed his surprise that the Unionists did not press 
forward instead of falling back to the intrencbments. 

How welcome the camp was after that fierce fight at Chester Station ! 

What stories the comrades had to tell of the startling incidents of the 
day, how the blood turned cold as they remembered how nearly captured 
they had been at one part of the engagement! Then there were the 
amusing episodes, for war, like life, has its lights and shadows, its humorous 
situations as well as its tragedies. 

" We cleaned up, told stories and rested," wrote one comrade. 

" It was a pretty close call for us, and we were full of joy to think we 
were back in camp," said another. 

All day, following that at Chester Station, the Battery rested. 

In the afternoon of May ii, Generals Gillmore and Smith, commanding 
the loth and i8th Army Corps respectively, received the following order 
from Maj.-Gen Butler: 

"A movement will be made to-morrow morning at daybreak of 
the troops in the following manner: Gen. Smith will take all his corps that 
can be spared from his line with safety, and will demonstrate against 
the enemy up the turnpike, extending his line of advance to the left, with 
his right resting, at the beginning of the movement, on the river at or near 
Hewlett's house, pressing the enemy into their intrencbments, with the 
endeavor to turn them on the left, if not too hotly opposed. Gen. Gillmore 
will order one division of his corps to report to Gen. Smith with two days' 
rations, ready to march at any time after daylight, at Gen. Smith's order. 
Gen. Gillmore will make such disposition with the remainder of his corps as 
to hold the enemy in check if any movement is made upon the rear of Gen. 
Smith, or upon our lines from the direction of Petersburg, holding such 
troops as may not be necessary to be thrown forward by him upon the turn- 
pike in reserve, ready to reinforce either point that may be attacked. 

"Of course. Gen. Smith's demonstration will cover the right of Gen. 
Gillmore's line of works, unless he is forced back. Gen. Kautz has orders 
to proceed as soon as the demonstration of Gen. Smith's troops has masked 
his movements at or near Chester Station, to make demonstrations upon 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 393 

the Danville road for the purpose of cutting it. It is intended to develop by 
this movement the entire strength of the enemy in the direction of Rich- 
mond, and, if possible, either to force them within their intrenchments or 
turn them, as the case may be. If successful, it is supposed that the troops 
will occupy, during the night, the line of advance secured. Gen. Hinks has 
orders to seize and hold a point on the Appomattox, opposite Gen. Smith's 
headquarters, during this movement." 

On the morning of May 12th " Boots and Saddles" rang out from the 
bugles, and the First Connecticut Light Battery was again to go to the front, 
in light marching order. Each man took his haversack, canteen, rubber 
blanket and three day's rations, consisting of coffee, sugar, hard tack, bacon 
or salt beef. Although the men were put under restriction as to what each 
carried, there was no limit placed on ammunition. Heavy four horse 
wagons followed the Battery, conveying a double portion of shot, shell and 
powder, supposed to be sufficient to last three days, even if the Battery 
were called into action each day. 

Gen. Alfred H. Terry, commanding ist Division of the loth Army 
Corps, reports: 

"On the morning of the 12th I received from the Major-General com- 
manding instructions to move with two of my brigades and two batteries out 
of the intrenchments and place them in support of the force which, under 
the command of Maj.-Gen. Smith, was moving up the Richmond and Peters- 
bnrg turnpike, and by the bank of the James River. In obedience to this 
order, I reported to him on the old turnpike with Plaisted's and Hawley's 
Brigades, each consisting of three regiments, the fourth regiment of each 
being at the time on picket, and with Warren's and Rockwell's Batteries." 

The Battery followed close upon the i8th Corps in the advance 
movement, firing often on the march, but the enemy retreated so rapidly 
that no serious resistance was encountered. On the advance, the firing was 
by half-battery; that is, three guns would be fired at a time, alternately, 
advancing and firing; this method gives the impression of two full six-gun 
batteries, and sometimes the enemy is misled into that supposition by the 
movement. 

After marching several miles along the turnpike, the troops turned into 
a cornfield upon the left, belonging to a man named Perdue, and there 



3 94 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

bivouacked for the night, near the spot known in history as the Half-Way 
House. The horses were fed on corn blades from Perdue's barn. During 
the night a wind and rain storm made camping very unpleasant, and some of 
the comrades protected themselves by getting together a quantity of corn 
stalks and building a hut with them, which gave slight protection from the 
rain and gave them a chance to get some sleep. 

While in camp, Col. R. White, of the 55th Pennsylvania Volunteers, 
with two regiments from the 3d Division, commanded by Gen. Adelbert 
Ames, viz., the 55th Pennsylvania Vohmteers and the 4th New Hampshire, 
reported to Gen. Terry, by order of Gen. Gillmore. 

Col. Joseph R. Hawley reports that his brigade left its camp near the 
line about to be fortified about 3 a. m. May 12. It consisted of the 7th 
Connecticut, Lieut. -Col. Daniel C. Rodman commanding, 21 officers and 
610 men; the 7th New Hampshire, Col. Joseph C. Abbott, 24 officers 
and 330 men, and the 3d New Hampshire, Lieut. -Col. Josiah I. Plimpton 
commanding, 26 officers and 700 men. Total, 71 officers and 1,640 men. 
The 6th Connecticut, Col. Redfield Duryee, was on picket, but came up 
the next day, under Lieut. -Col. Meeker, and was placed in Col. Alford's 
brigade, of Gen. Turner's division, where it remained during the expedition. 
Hawley *s brigade followed Plaisted's along the Richmond and Petersburg- 
turnpike, near Chester Station, and bivouacked at Perdue's farm, furnishing 
300 men for picket duty. Two men of the 7th Connecticut were wounded 
on picket. 

The entire command was ordered to bivouac and lie on their arms 
during the night. A very heavy rain during the day had served to injure 
the roads, and the soldiers slept that night, drenched to the skin. 

Gen. Weitzel had skirmished all day after leaving Gen. Gillmore's line 
of pickets, and had succeeded in driving the enemy in front of him until he 
reached the turnpike crossing of Red House Creek. 

A reconnoissance made by Gen. William Farrar Smith, better known as 
" Baldy " Smith, during the afternoon, on Gen. Weitzel's right, developed 
the fact that the enemy held the left bank of Proctor's Creek with artillery, 
and that the slopes were steep and heavily wooded. No infantry 
was seen. 

During the night Gen. Marston's Brigade, which had formed a second 




THE HALF-WAY HOUSE, As the inn was called, was the scene of many skirmishes and some 
serious engagements. It is still standing and looks very much as it did in the days when 
Federals and Confederates fought round it as a centre. 



FIRST LIGH7' BATTERY, 1861—1865 397 

line behind Gen. Weitzel, was ordered to report to Gen. Gillmore for the 
purpose of making a flank movement around the head of Proctor's Creek. 

On the morning of May 13th, the loth Army Corps moved to the left 
and took the extreme left of the line, the First Connecticut Battery being 
transferred to the i8th Army Corps, under the command of Gen. W. F. 
Smith. 

Early on that morning, Gen. Smith, with Gen. Brooks, made a recon- 
noissance on the front, finding a practicable country for infantry across 
Cattle Run, a branch of Proctor's Creek, and beyond that a high hill which 
overlooked and commanded the left bank of the creek and vicinity of the 
turnpike. 

A brigade of infantry was at once thrown forward on the hill, and 
sharpshooters so placed that they covered the passage of artillery down the 
turnpike to the point necessary to gain the hill. Skirmishers were then 
thrown forward across the creek, and it was found that the enemy had 
retired. 

The 3d New York Light Artillery, Battery E, was placed in position 
in front of the Half- Way House, and on the right of the pike. Fire 
was opened upon a work which the Confederates had thrown up a mile 
distant and on the road. The enemy replied with two 12-pounders, and 
having an accurate knowledge of the ground, got a good range upon the 
Battery, but did little damage. The New York Battery kept firing until 
dark, and succeeded in silencing the enemy's guns. The Connecticut 
Battery was in rear of the skirmishers, ready to assist them if necessary. 

While these skirmishes were proceeding, Gen. Gillmore had moved the 
loth Army Corps to Chester Station, and thence by long and circuitous 
route through the woods west of the railroad, to a position in rear of 
the right of the first of the enemy's line of intrenchments defending 
Richmond from the south. At the station Col. White's command was 
detached, and, accompanied by one piece of artillery, proceeded up the rail- 
road to attack in front, while the main body should turn the enemy's flank. 
The 3d New Hampshire Volunteers, under Lieut. -Col. J. L Plimpton, 
was then ordered by Maj.-Gen. Gillmore to make a detour to the left and 
gain the rear of the position. The regiment immediately attacked. The 
enemy's works were uninclosed, but were placed on a high, rounded ridge, 



398 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

and presented a bastioned front, flanking the railroad. The enemy had a 
tremendous force defending the works, and when taken in reverse, threw 
themselves on the exterior slope of the parapet, pouring a galling fire 
into the Union troops. 

With a magnificent courage and glorious daring, the 3d New Hamp- 
shire charged up the hill and nearly reached the works, but the odds were 
too great and they were compelled to fall back. As they did so, it was seen 
that the ground was covered with their men, the charge had onl}' lasted 
a few minutes but the regiment lost over a hundred in killed and wounded. 

The 7th Connecticut and the 7th New Hampshire went to support 
the regiment already engaged, but the enemy being threatened upon the 
front of their works by Col. White's column and shelled by Langdon's 
battery from the railroad, abandoned their position. 

Col. Joseph Hawley, commanding the Second Brigade, First Division, 
loth Army Corps, reported: 

"Gen. Terry ordered me to follow and support Lieut. -Col. Plimpton, 
who by this time had become fiercely engaged. Moving in the direction of 
the sounds, I brought the regiments into column in an open field, and they 
hurried forward with enthusiasm. As we neared the road by which 
the 3d New Hampshire crossed the swamp, we met Maj. Randlett, of 
the 3d New Hampshire, and a large number of the Third coming back 
wounded. Lieut. -Col. Plimpton soon appeared, reporting that his regiment 
was in danger on his left flank, on which the enemy appeared to be coming. 
The 7th New Hampshire was ordered across the creek, and it went 
over and up through the strip of woods, where it formed on the edge of the 
field, covering the Third, which had met largely superior forces, and after a 
gallant fight, having advanced up the field to a house and outbuildings, 
forcing the enemy to jump over their works and fight from the front 
of them, had been forced to retire. The 7th Connecticut was about to 
follow the 7th New Hampshire across the swamp, when, it being reported 
that the work was apparently enclosed (a re-entering portion of it 
having certainly that look from the rear), and that forces were moving 
to attack the left flank of our column, the 7th Connecticut was a little 
withdrawn and moved ofi: in line to meet such force. The 3d New 
Hampshire, which had met at least one brigade (some prisoners reported 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 399 

two), had lost about 140 in a few minutes, and had taken 10 prisoners, was 
called back across the creek to reform. While my commanding officers 
halted a moment for consultation, and to discover the suspected move- 
ment against our flank, it was learned that Col. White, of the 55th Pennsyl- 
vania, with that and the 4th New Hampshire, coming up the railroad 
upon the front of the works about the time of our attack, had caused their 
evacuation, and had entered a portion of them. We immediately moved 
over, and occupied half a mile of the right of this most important line. 
I threw out four companies of the 7th Connecticut as a picket line on 
the north, under Capt. Mills, and sent the 7th New Hampshire down 
into a wood on the north side of the works to the railroad, to feel of a rebel 
light battery in sight toward the east, on the line supported by some 
infantry. Being imable to continue the movement beyond the railroad, they 
formed a good picket-line connecting with Capt. Mills, from which they 
were relieved at 10 o'clock by the loth Connecticut." 

The 1 8th Army Corps held a disadvantageous position during most 
of that day. A narrow strip of open country extended from about 300 
yards on the left of the turnpike, down to the James River. To the left of 
this open country were woods, with thick undergrowth on the front of the 
Union line. The woods extended nearly a mile to the right. The 
skirmishers were pushed forward, supported by the line of battle, until they 
reached some points of the outer edge of the woods. 

From that point the enemy's line of defenses could be seen for over a 
mile, having a strong profile, with a ditch on the outside. Numerous 
embrasures for artillery were also filled. The approaches to the works on 
Gen. Brooks' front required an advance over open ground of from 300 
to 700 yards, all of which could be swept by the enemy's artillery. 

Gen. Smitia knew that such a line could not be carried by assault if held 
in force by the enemy, and would not attempt it unless he received orders 
to do so. 

The Connecticut Battery had been firing all day by half-battery and 
sections. While resting under the cover of a hill the comrades saw 
many wounded men, and the surgeons working with them. Comrade 
Griswold tells one little episode of the day which harrowed the hearts of the 
comrades: 



400 



HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 



"On one occasion," he says, "a poor fellow lay upon the ground near 
us with a ball through his arm, a drunken surgeon came up to him and 
commenced in a very brutal manner to handle him, torturing him fearfully; 
he commenced preparations to amputate his arm, the poor fellow pleading 
hard against the operation, but finding that he could not prevail on the 
surgeon to let him alone, he appealed to us for assistance. Some of 
our men had had some experience in the hospitals and were satisfied that 

amputation was not necessary, and that if it was, 
the surgeon was in no condition to perform the 
operation. We saw that the poor fellow was 
being tormented by the rough treatment and we 
could stand it no longer, and though knowing full 
well what the consequences might be for such 
action, we decided to risk them and took the 
wounded soldier away from the surgeon, who 
threatened to have us arrested. Comrade Edgar 
G. Davis bandaged up the soldier's arm and 
received the sincere thanks of the poor fellow. We 
called for a stretcher and had him carried off the 
field, but we were never troubled by the surgeon 
for what we had done." 

During the afternoon Gen. W. F. Smith rode 
along the line, telling the troops that Gen. Hancock had captured a 
Confederate corps with all its commanders. It was through the enthusiasm 
created by this report that the infantry made a rush and captured the 
enemy's works. 

An amusing incident occurred late that afternoon. On the pike was a 
large house, and one of the officers rode up and hitched his horse to the 
fence, not noticing that there was a hive full of bees close by. The bees 
resented the proximity of the horse and proceeded to attack it. The bees 
and the horse made a combination which caused considerable excitement. 

Comrade Sloan tells of the discovery of a sow and a litter of pigs, and 
how a thousand hungry soldiers made that sow surrender. There was very 
little left to tell of the existence of that sow and little pigs a few minutes 
later. 




EDWARD GRISWOLD, 
of Guilford. 
Enlisted Oct. 9, 1861. Mustered 
in Oct. 26,1861. Discharged Oct. 

26, 1864. 











\ t 





FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 403 

The march on that afternoon of May 13th was full of interest and 
excitement. It was slow, many halts were made, occasionally shells were 
fired into the woods to frighten sharpshooters or skirmishers, or a shot sent, 
as a feeler, toward some suspicious looking hill or mound. New scenes 
opened up to the vision of the comrades, every quarter-of-a-mile traveled 
developed new ideas to the Northern-born men — the houses, the plantations 
all excited curiosity and pleasure — while the thought that they were march- 
ing toward Richmond was so stimulating that all danger was forgotten and 
only a patriotic warmth filled the hearts of the comrades. A comrade says: 
"Early in the afternoon of the 13th we were posted in battery, in a field 
situated between two patches of woods, and near a spring of water. 
A Rhode Island Battery of 30 pound Parrot guns was in battery on our 
right. There was brisk skirmishing directly in front, an occasional bullet, 
or fragment of shell, passing over our heads, giving evidence that the enemy 
was near. It was at this spot that the enemy made a most determined 
stand. On the pike was a signboard, on which was painted: 

MANCHESTER 1 4 MILES. 

We were informed that Manchester was just across the James from 
Richmond. To us it appeared that another day's march would bring us in 
sight of the coveted capital. We also expected that a desperate struggle 
would take place before we were allowed to enter the city, and we 
wondered when and where that final struggle would occur. All night we 
lay by our guns on the wet ground, the frequent showers made camping 
without tents very moist business, our clothes were wet through, for 
the occasional gleam of sunlight during the day had not been enough to dry 
our clothing, so all day, and all night, for three or four days and nights 
during that marching and fighting, our clothes were wringing wet, and the 
only thing we were able to keep dry was the powder and ammunition." 

The troops camped on the ground captured from the enemy that night, 
and every man lay on his arms ready for the summons to renew the fight. 

One section of the Battery was on picket, the other two sections lay 
beside the guns, the horses harnessed, and but few slept. Comrade Clark 
says that all realized what true soldier style meant, lying on the ground 
with their head upon a log. 

In the middle of the nio-ht an alarm was raised. An officer thought he 



404 



HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 



heard a cavalry charge. The sound conveyed to his ears was clearly that of 
horses galloping. The alarm was given, the whole brigade called to arms, 
men's faces lighted up with eagerness for the excitement of battle, when 
instead of a charge of the enemy's cavalry it was found some soldiers 
had been chasing a calf. There were some very strong words uttered, the 
air was blue for a time, and then all returned to their couch of grass and 
pillow of wood or stone. 

Gen. Gillmore reported to Gen. Butler from "Headquarters, inside the 
enemy's works." 

"After a severe conflict we have taken the enemy's works on his 
extreme right. The troops have behaved splendidly." 

Maj-Gen. Butler replied: 

"Gen. Gillmore: 

"Dispatch received. Your success is truly gratifying and worthy 
your energy and perseverance. " 




U^ 



Chapter 2 1 





HEN Gen. Turner, commanding the Second Division of the 
loth Army Corps, heard that the enemy had advanced 
his position shortly after daybreak on the morning 
of May 14, he at once moved his whole line half a mile, 
when his skirmishers found the enemy beyond a belt of 
timber in his front, and behind another series of intrench- 
ments. Gen. Terry received an order to move toward the turnpike and 
connect his right with the left of Turner's division. This movement 
brought Terry's division in front of the enemy's second line of works. The 
divisk)n consisted of Hawley's brigade on the right; then Plaisted's, 
White's, with its left on the railroad and a little retired, and later in the 
day Marston's, on the west of the railroad. 

Terry's right and centre were in a low, wooded and marshy valley, 
directly in front of which arose a ridge, on which was placed a most 
formidable line of works, those in front of the right and centre consisting of 
three heavy redoubts, connected by strong infantry parapets. On the left of 
the railroad was an equally strong redoubt, from which the line turning 



406 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

sharply to the north and flanking the road was visible for at least a mile. 

Gen. Hawley sent forward skirmishers of the 7th Connecticut, who 
were soon engaged. They moved through a wood about 200 yards to an 
open field. Up a slight slope about 400 yards distant was a large and well- 
kept house with garden fences and outbuildings, and beyond that a formid- 
able line of earthworks well manned. 

As the skirmishers approached, they were met with a deadly fire from 
the houses, as well as from the main works. The enemy's artillery also 
became troublesome. Gen. Hawley asked for a piece of artillery to be sent 
him. He aimed two shots, himself, at the buildings, and both the house 
and outbuilding were soon in flames. The firing still continued very heavy 
and so Gen. Hawley sent skirmishers from the 7th Connecticut, under Capt. 
Dennis, to drive the enemy out of the buildings. Twice they were driven 
back, but they persevered, though suffering heavy loss, and drove the 
enemy from the cover of the buildings. Then Gen. Terry ordered an 
advance, the 7th Connecticut and the 7th New Hampshire moved up the 
slope in the finest style, cheering heartily, and going right up to the build- 
ings on the top of the slope. The 3d New Hampshire followed to the edge 
of the wood. The enemy's fire was at times very severe, their field 
pieces were frequently silenced, though they inflicted some injuries. 

Gen. Gillmore sent an aide to Col. Otis, commanding the loth Connecti- 
cut, to advance on the second line of works, the loth Regiment forming the 
reserve of the brigade. 

The sharpshooters in the woods near the railroad annoyed the Union 
force very much, and Col. Plaisted ordered the loth Connecticut to take 
position in the line on the left, and to send forward a strong line of 
skirmishers, under Major Greeley, to support him with the balance of the 
regiment, and, if possible, imcover the enemy's position. 

With promptness the gallant Tenth executed this movement, driving 
the enemy's skirmishers from the woods and establishing a line on the 
opposite side. 

Early on the morning of May 14th the Battery was making ready for a 
quick start, the horses were fed, and everything put in order. Very few of 
the comrades had slept soundly the previous night, for all had realized that 
a great battle would soon be fought, and the many rumors afloat of the 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 407 

exploits of different men and regiments the day before, the knowledge that 
the enemy was vigilant, active and in strong force made many fear that the 
Battery might be destroyed during the next movement. All night and on 
that early morning the pickets were exchanging shots, and the reports could 
be heard in the camp, the ring of the rifle shot being at times drowned in 
the heavy, sullen roar of a distant cannon. 

Toward noon the bugle sounded "Forward," and the Battery was 
ordered into the pike, and a short distance ahead, into a cross-road to the 
left, appoximately parallel with the enemy's works. The comrades did not 
know in which direction they were marching, except as they looked at the 
sun they were able to form some idea about north, south, east or westerly 
direction. The day was excessively and unusually hot — a nasty, sticky, 
muggy heat, with little or no wind stirring, making the atmosphere nearly as 
hot in the shade as in the sun, when the sun burst through the clouds at 
intervals. No soldier was allowed to leave the line of march or get out of 
his place in that line; the orders were very strict and were rigidly enforced. 

About midday when the sun was at its zenith, and the heat the most 
oppressive the Battery reached a spring of fine, clear, cold water by the 
roadside. Everyone wanted to fill his canteen from that spring, for good 
water was scarce. The Battery could not halt, and the men had strict 
orders to keep their places in line. One comrade at a time would venture 
out of the line, taking with him the canteens of several comrades nearest to 
him, just as many as he could carry, then he would rush to the spring, fill 
the canteens, and running with them overtake the line of march. These 
comrades took great risks, for had the order been given to "Trot, march ! " 
they could not possibly have overtaken it, handicapped with, perhaps, a 
dozen canteens of water each. If the Battery had gone into action, without 
every man in his place, it would have been a serious matter for the absent 
ones, besides the comrades who had given their canteens to be filled, would 
have to get along without water of any kind. Had they kept them they 
might have got brook water or some warm lime spring water, but without 
canteens they would have been left in a very uncomfortable condition. 
The luxury of a drink of cool, clear spring water was tempting beyond the 
power of resistance, and so desperate chances were taken to get it, and in 
nearly every case the comrades were successful. 



408 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

A fine spring was at the roadside, the water falling into a natural 
trough, in which it sparkled and bubbled with cool freshness. Three or 
four comrades were at the spring filling the canteens they had collected, 
when an officer, mounted on a fine, spirited horse, rode up. He angrily 
ordered the comrades away and drove his horse into the spring, not 
merely allowing him to drink, but letting him stand in the cool water and 
roil it up so that no one else could get any clear water. Among those at 
the spring was Comrade Edwin Gridley, a man past middle age, who was 
very much fatigued by the march. He was so anxious to fill his canteen 
from that spring and get a drink of cool, clear water, the first in several 
days, that he did not obe}^ the officer promptly but continvied trying to 
fill his canteen. Those who were there say that the officer rode his 
horse on to "old man Gridley," as he was called, and with a flourish of his 
sword drove the comrade away before he could get a drink or fill his 
canteen. The comrades could not help expressing their indignation at this 
piece of unnecessary cruelt}' . 

During the afternoon the Battery was ordered forward to take an 
advanced position on a ridge west of the railroad, on the extreiue left of the 
loth Army Corps, which was on the left of the army. 

During this forward movement a line of ambulances was met, the 
Battery halting close beside them. Each ambulance was filled with 
wounded, who had been etherized for the different operations they had 
undergone and the odor of the ether was exceedingly strong, making the 
atmosphere feel full of it. Some of the comrades had read of the power of 
the subtile fluid in putting men to sleep and rendering them unconscious, 
and they began to wonder how the strong odor would affect them, some 
actually became nervous and uncomfortable, and wished the Battery would 
resume the march. This nervousness amused the ambulance attendants 
and others who were better posted on the effects of ether. It was a new 
experience to most of the Battery boys, for they had not been hanging 
around hospitals very much. 

The Battery moved forward, crossed the railroad track and halted in a 
narrow path in the wood alongside a deep cut by the track. Comrade 
Griswold says that they were so near the enemy that "we could be 
counted as we crossed the track." 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861-1865 409 

The trees had been cut on one side of the railroad leaving the stumps 
quite high, the skirmishers who were engaged in driving back the enemj^'s 
skirmishers and thus making a place for the Battery, used these stumps to 
cover their advance. The fight was hot, the enemy stood their ground with 
doggedness and courage, the Unionists had hard work and some began to 
use the tree stumps to cover, not their advance, but their retreat to the 
rear. Gen. Robert S. Foster, Chief of Gillmore's staff, was in command 
as the representative of the Major-General, and he wanted the position held 
until he could send forward reinforcements. He stood in his shirt sleeves, 
in the very thickest of the fight, ordering the skirmishers to hold the 
ground and to move forward, not back. 

As he watched with zealous eye, he saw a man sneaking down the 
bank of the railroad into the cut. 

" Where are you going ? " Gen. Foster demanded. 

"I'm scouting, General." 

"Scout to the front you." 

The man began to climb the soft muddy bank but his feet slipped and 
he made but poor headway. Gen. Foster raised his revolver and fired two 
shots, in quick succession, at the alleged scout, evidently with no intention 
of hitting him, and the man tried to get up the bank in mortal fear of 
being shot. He dug his fingers in the soft mud but his hands slipped back 
and for every step forward he lost at least half a step backward. 

Turning roimd the General saw a man sneaking behind a tree and 
evidently trying to evade being seen. 

"Where are you going ?" 

"For ammunition, sir." 

"Go to the front or I'll shoot you." Then in a loud voice, brave, 
sturdy Gen. Foster told the men that unless they moved forward he 
would shoot them down. The General shouted: "If I had my old Brigade 
here they would drive them to the wall instantly, there are not ten men in 
front of you." As only a very few showed any inclination to retreat, the 
others cheered the General, and a few shots from his revolver were all that 
was necessary to put courage in the most timid. He made themx hold the 
line until the loth Connecticut was ordered up and passing right over them. 



410 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

drove the enemy back, so that the Battery could move through the woods, 
and take a position on higher ground. 

During the hot fight between the skirmishers of the loth Connecticut 
and the enemy's skirmishers the Battery was so close to the firing line that 
the comrades lay on the ground and used their heavy revolvers to aid the 
gallant Tenth. 

The Battery halted there for some time while the infantry drove back 
the enemy's skirmish line. Stray bullets passed near and Capt. Rockwell re- 
calls how one struck with a dull thud. He looked round to see who had been 
hit, and saw one of the horses shake his head in a very peculiar manner, 
when out of the animal's mouth dropped a tooth, broken by the bullet. The 
action with the skirmishers caused the enemy to open fire with some heavy 
guns mounted in their works, perhaps looo yards away. They had the 
range, but most of their shells passed just over the Battery. 

While the Battery was halted there, Capt. Rockwell rode along the 
wood road, with Capt. Langdon, Chief of Artillery and Maj. Brooks, 
both on Gen. Terry's staff, who were to show him the position the 
Battery was to take. The three dismounted on the edge of the woods 
and walked into an open field, which sloped gradually up to the ridge. 
Maj. Brooks looked over the ground and said: 

" That's your position. Captain," pointing to the ridge. 

Scarcely had the words left his lips when a shell, or spherical-case shot, 
burst very near the three officers, and a piece struck Maj. Brooks on the 
arm, causing him to fall. 

With magnificent coolness and courage the officer said: 

"Drag me behind that tree and I will give you the rest of 3'our 
orders." 

Capt. Rockwell, cool in the midst of danger, brave when the risk 
was greatest, did not hesitate to assist Capt. Langdon to do as the 
wounded Major desired. The two officers did not allow their iron nerves 
to quiver, for both were men imbued with splendid courage. 

Maj. Brooks, though badly wounded, went on with his instructions, 
while the shells passed unpleasantly near. Then Capt. Langdon helped 
him froin the field. 

When Capt. Rockwell was ready to return to the Battery, Comrade 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1863 411 

Jillson, who was holding the horses, called the Captain's attention to his 
saddle, which had been cut by a fragment of shell. In the excitement of an 
engagement, when masses of men are charging, when deeds of bravery are 
being performed each moment, and soldiers are proving their manhood by 
heroism, coolness becomes contagious to a certain extent. It is in times 
when a man is alone, or nearly so, and the bullets pass over him and shells 
explode so close that he is in danger of immediate death, that coolness 
proves the grand courage of the man. Capt. Rockwell showed at all times 
that he was too brave to tremble, too courageous to think of himself in 
moments of peril, and the coolness of Oomrade Jillson, when he stood faith- 
fully holding his Captain's horse, though shells were bursting and shots 
flying around him, without flinching, went to show that brave as was 
the Captain he had equally brave men composing his command. Jillson 
was a good, snappy fellow, full of grit and without fear, he had that spirit 
which animated the officer when he said he "cot:ld die but never surrender." 

During the absence of Capt. Rockwell the Battery was under the 
command of Lieut. Metcalf. The Lieutenant, in his anxiety to get 
the Battery into a position less exposed to the enemy's shots, attempted 
to countermarch the Battery, and moved the right section into the woods a 
short distance, and got the pieces so tangled up in the brush and young 
trees that the engineers had to be called on to cut them loose. When the 
order came for the Battery to move forward, the centre section was on the 
field first, closely followed by the left section, both being in position before 
the right section got disentangled. Capt. Rockwell recalling that day 
says: "It was a very trying position certainly, to have to stand still 
with those shells flying and bursting overhead." 

Comrade Dickinson .says of this incident: "While Capt. Rockwell had 
gone with Maj. Brooks to look at our proposed position, Lieut. Metcalf 
tried to countermarch the Battery and had got his section — the right — 
tangled up in the trees so that the sappers had to be sent for to cut it loose. 
While they were at work, the other sections moved forward and went into 
position in the field in our front." 

The enemy had doubtless counted the time it would take for the Battery 
to get through the woods, but they miscalculated, for just as the last caisson 



412 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

had rolled out of the woods several shells were dropped directly in the path 
they had traversed. One minute sooner and the Battery might never have 
reached the line, for the enemy had the range and distance so accurately. 

When the woods were cleared the Battery got into position, the pieces 
being rolled to the front by hand. As No. 5 piece of the left section was 
taking its position Capt. Rockwell grabbed the wheel and assisted in placing 
the gun as he wanted it. 

While the right section was cutting its way through the wood, Comrade 
Richardson was seen running as fast as ever he did in his life towards the 
section, crying out that he was wounded and that the Battery was cut to 
pieces, not a man being left alive. Some of the comrades thought that 
Richardson could not have been wounded and they stripped him. They 
then saw that he was really wounded in three places, a bullet having entered 
the upper part of his thigh and worked its way to a point just above the 
knee, making three distinct wounds. He was taken to the rear and placed 
in the hands of the surgeon. 

As the right section entered the field a shell struck and wounded the 
two horses driven by Comrade Joseph Fowler, one of the horses had its leg 
broken and had to be killed, and the one on which Fowler was riding- 
received a nasty flank wound. A piece of the shell struck Sergt. Tuttle, 
who was with the first piece and wounded Comrade Peter McGee slightly. 

Although Comrade Richardson had exaggerated slightly, there was a 
very good basis of truth in his story, for the left section experienced the 
most disastrous time in its history, and it looked as though it would be 
wiped out of existence. 

Scarcely had the left and centre sections got into position before a shell 
burst, wounding Comrades Leonard, Besley, Charles Bissell, Hart Landon, 
Richardson, SulHvan and James Reynolds, and killing six horses. 

As the guns of the right section were being got into position near the 
crest, a spherical-case shot burst just in front of the left section and killed 
Private Wilmot instantly, mortally wounding Lieut. Metcalf in the groin, 
killing, at the same time, several horses. One of the balls of the spherical 
case struck Lieut. Metcalf's field glass and dropped into his riding boot. 

A fragment of a shell struck Comrade John F. Bliss, and he made sure 
that he was badly wounded, but finding no blood when he put his hand to 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 



415 



the place, he concluded that he had been hit by a spent piece and paid no 
further attention to the matter. Many a man would have made that an 
excuse for a temporary withdrawal from the field, but the Connecticut men 
were made of sterner stuff and stood their ground until they could no longer 
perform their duties. 

Lieut. jNIetcalf died in the field hospital a few hours later. He 
died calmly and peacefully, "having long since," as he told the attendant, 
"set his house in order. " Capt. Rockwell rode over to the hospital the 
first opportunity to seethe lieutenant, but he was too late. The Lieutenant's 
body was taken from the hospital on the Battery wagon to Bermuda 
Hundred Landing and there buried, later it was disinterred and sent to his 
native city of Hartford. 

Comrade Elias O. Norton, recalling that opening fire, says: 

"We had gone into Battery under the brow of 
the bluff, so that our horses might be protected, 
and moved our pieces by hand to the front, and 
commenced firing. I was lead driver on the left 
piece of the left section. I had just dismounted 
and stood by the head of my near horse, holding 
a line from both of them, when a spherical-case 
shell came from the enemy's line and killed 
Comrade Henry L. Wilmot, who was Number 2, 
instantly, hit my near horse in the forehead, both 
of the swing horses and one of the wheel horses. 
At the same time the swing driver had one of 
his arms taken off above the elbow, and Lieut. 
Metcalf, who was hitching his horse to the limber, 
was mortally wounded. Lieut. Metcalf and 

myself, with the swing driver, all stood in line and I have often wondered 
how I escaped getting hit. 

" When I looked round to see what had happened I did not see the swing 
or wheel driver, and did not know until after the fight that the swing driver 
Comrade Charles Bissell had lost his arm. I found myself alone with six 
horses, four of them badly wounded and all of them pretty well mixed up. 
I went to work and succeeded in getting everything off the wounded horses, 




ELIAS O. NORTON, 
of Guilford, 
Enlisted Nov. 3. '61 ; mustered 
in Nov. 14, '61; discharged Nov. 
13, '64; time expired. 



416 



HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 



except the surcingle and piled them into the limber. It took me some 
time to accomplish it, as I had to duck quite often on account of 
the shells from the enemy. I then took the two horses that were 

uninjured and with the limber started for the 
rear to get some more horses which were in 
reserve. When I got about half through the 
woods I saw Comrade Hart Landon sitting at 
the foot of a tree fanning himself with his cap. 
Stopping my team I asked him what was the 
matter with him and he replied that he was 
wounded and not able to walk. I lifted him on 
top of my load of harness and he rode there 
until he crossed the railroad, when it hurt him 
so much that he wanted to get down. I stopped 
and took him off and hoisted him on my back, 
holding him with one arm and leading the 
two horses with the other. I had carried 
him quite a distance in that way when I looked 
ahead and saw the wheel driver coming toward 
I stopped and put the comrade on the ground until the driver came to 
I asked him if he would look after the horses while I attended to the 
I soon found two soldiers with a 




CHARLES N. BISSELL, 

of Hebron, 

Enlisted Oct. 7, '61; mustered in 

Oct. 26, '61; wounded at Proctor's 

Creek May 14. '64; discharged Oct. 

25, '64; time expired. 



US. 
US. 

comrade. 

stretcher, and placing Comrade Landon on it, 

sent him to the hospital. I did not see Comrade 

Landon again until I was discharged and reached 

home." 

Comrade Hart Landon, writing of that en- 
gagement, sa3"s: 

"On May 14 the Battery advanced through 
the woods near the railroad track, the enemy's 
rear guard firing on us, the Battery having to 
stand and take it. The General told us not to 
flinch. He ordered the men to cut the trees, so 
the Battery could move to the front. Soon we 
had orders to march to the front through the 
woods into a plain lot, where I think the Battery 




HART LANDON, 

of Guilford, 

Enlisted Oct. 26, '61; mustered 

in Nov. 2. '61; \vounded Proctor's 

C'-eek May 14, '64; discharged 

Nov. 2. '64, time expired. 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 417 

had its hardest engagement, two being killed and ten wounded, myself 
among the latter. I was carried off through the woods on the back of Com- 
rade E. O. Norton." 

The Battery kept up an incessant firing, Capt. Rockwell stand- 
ing at the right of the Battery on the brow of the hill with his glass in 
hand, directing everv shot. As soon as the enemy found that we were 
in position they cut their fuse shorter, and the first two shots exploded in 
front of each piece of the left section. Comrade Griswold says " 1 was Num- 
ber six and had just stooped to pick up my fuse shears, which I had acci- 
dentally dropped when this spherical-case 'shell exploded just in front of 
our piece. That night when I shook out my rubber blanket, which was 
strapped upon the limber chest during the fight, there were twenty-five 
ball holes through it. The wheel of the limber was struck with a piece of 
shell and used worse than the wheel the Battery has on exhibition at the 
State Capitol, Hartford. Six wounded horses were floundering about me 
all snarled up in their harness. The spherical case that struck in front of 
the left piece killed Lieut. Metcalf, wounded several men and killed six 
horses. Had the enemy succeeded in keeping this accurate firing many 
minutes, our battery would have been annihilated, but our Captain was a 
good officer, and as soon as we had the range on the enemy, he ordered a 
rapid fire, making it lively for the enemy, as they soon began to fire wildly." 

Capt. Rockwell says: "There was no means of knowing how efl:ect- 
ive our fire was. Looking up the track, I could see the trains discharging 
troops brought from Richmond, They were probably beyond the range of 
the battery guns, though we fired several shots at them. After a while the 
fire of the enemy ceased and we stopped also. We remained there till dark, 
and then were ordered back to a point near headquarters. Shortly before 
we left Sergt. Tuttle was hit in the arm, if I remember rightly, by a 
chance bullet as we were lying down." 

The limber wheel of the 5th piece, left section, was struck by a shot, 
and so shattered that it fell apart on the field and could not be repaired. 
Comrade Andrew Nolan says that he stood right in line of that shot, and it 
was a lucky accident for him that it ricochetted and struck the wheel, or it 
would have gone right through him. He helped to remove the shattered 
wheel and to put on the spare wheel, which is always carried on the caisson. 



418 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

Comrade Sloan relates his experience during that engagement at 
Proctor's Creek, as follows: 

"The third piece, on which I was No. 3, advanced to a point near a 
board fence, and opened fire before we were discovered. When we opened 
at an earthwork about six hundred yards distant, on our right were the loth 
Connecticut l3'ing in the tall grass, and keeping up a hot fusilade against the 
enemy. As soon as we opened, the enemy replied in good shape, giving us 
all we wanted to do — they certainly had our range, and all that saved i:s 
was the fact that we were behind a little knoll. 

" Personally I knew nothing of that day's history but what happened 
within a few feet of me, and, in a few words, will tell my own experience. 
Capt. Rockwell was near our piece most of the afternoon, and from hear- 
ing Col Plaisted tell him that Metcalf was seriously wounded I learned of 
that fact. O. K. Abels, who was No. 4 on our piece, insisted that he could see 
a line of Confederate infantry in our front and borrowed a field glass to 
make sure that he was right. He was still of the same opinion, and as the 
Corporal had orders to fire at regular intervals, the pieces firing in turn, 
Corp. vScranton thought there would be no harm in sighting the gun at 
the supposed line of infantry, but when the rails commenced to fly, it 
showed that there was nothing but an old snake fence. Between us and 
the enemy's works were three or four old houses, and these made cover for 
a lot of sharpshooters, who annoyed us a great deal. Col. Otis asked Capt. 
Rockwell to see if he could not do something to stop them, so we were 
told to see what could be done. After a few shots the houses were set on 
fire, and when the sharpshooters tried to get to cover the infantry support- 
ing us got in some good shots. One shell came very near finishing up our 
piece, but the only man hit was Peter McGee, who was struck a glancing 
blow in the breast by a large piece, and was forced to go to the rear, but he 
found it so much worse there that he preferred to return to his ]D0st, No. 5, 
where he felt safer. One of the very many pleasant recollections of 
Comrade Upson is that on that day he brought us canteens of cool water 
from a spring near the hospital — nothing that I ever drank tasted so good 
as that water. I also remember that some one reported to Capt. Rockwell 
the wounding of Sergt. Tuttle. 

" We occupied our position until quite dark, when the pieces were with 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 419 

drawn, one at a time, our piece last. At Capt. Rockwell's order I shot two 
horses that were badly wounded. 

"Before we left, the enemy's skirmishers were getting pretty close to 
us, and making it very warm, but our piece which was first in and last out, 
lost no one, although for some days Peter McGee was not on duty. We fell 
back to a field near the hospital, where we hoped to spend the night, but 
some part of the Battery was on the move all night." 

The fighting was desperate all along the line. The yth Connecticut 
skirmishers, commanded by Capt. Dennis, fought desperately for two hours, 
expending all their ammunition and the supplies sent them. 

About half-past three in the afternoon the line. Col, Hawley command- 
ing, was ordered forward on the charge, going up with the 7th New Hamp- 
shire on the left, the 3d New Hampshire in reserve, to the summit of the 
slope, where the house had been burned, forcing the enemy to take 
to their earthworks, about 400 yards in front, leaving the 7th Connecticut 
in possession of the top of the hill, where fighting continued until dark. 

The sun was setting, and there had been a light lull in the fighting when 
the enemy suddenly opened a furious fire and charged the Union line with 
desperation. The fight was furious, charging and countercharging — a fight 
full of daring deeds of valor on both sides— but after the fierce struggle the 
enemy was repulsed and the artillery fire subdued. 

During the afternoon Comrade Dickinson had his horse shot through 
the flank, and when the Battery returned to camp he had to use the horse 
which Lieut. Metcalf had been riding himself prior to his being 
killed. It was one of a pair of big cream horses, one of which Comrade 
Marcus M. Hall rode when he carried the colors on review. In battle the fine 
side of human nature is seen to its best advantage, and especially so is this 
true when man comes in close connection with horses. Comrade Lewis 
Sykes drove a pair of good-looking, coal-black, medium-sized horses on 
the lead of gun No. i, right section. Comrade Huntington, who had 
charge of that detachment most of the time, repeatedly said that Sykes 
was the best driver in the Battery, was always on duty, unflinching in 
battle, always in his place in the fiercest action as weh as on the drill 
ground, his horses were well cared for, the equipments in the best of con- 
dition, without any rough or bad habits, he was in every way a model 



420 



HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 




LEWIS SYKES, 
of Hatfield, Mass. 
Enlisted Oct. 25, '61; mustered 
in Nov. 2, '61; discharged Nov. 
2, '64, time expired. 



soldier and a good man. He was passionately fond of his horses. The 
one he rode he named "Nig." At the battle of Proctor's Creek, Nig was 

shot by a sharpshooter, the bullet went through 
the jaws, breaking one of Nig's grinders, and 
wounding his jaw so that he could not chew oats, 
corn or hay. Comrade Sykes drew, from the 
Quartermaster, meal and bran, with which he 
made a soft mash and fed it to Nig. He worked 
over him every day until he got well, and was re- 
stored to duty. No parent could ever nurse and 
care for a sick child with greater anxiety and 
tenderness than Comrade Sykes bestowed on Nig. 
When Nig was hit Comrade Sykes thought he 
would die, and was so worried that he shed tears. 
In one of the many skirmishes, the Battery 
was in, between the 9th and 14th, of May, 1864, 
one of Comrade Sykes' horses got a bullet hole 
through his ears, the wounds quickly healed but 
left a small hole, large enough to draw a small ribbon through Sykes got 
a small blue ribbon and tied it to the horse's ears by passing it through the 
bullet holes. He often said that he would buy the horse from the 
Government when his time expired, and keep him as a souvenir of the 
war. Many noticed the blue ribbon which marked the course of the 
bullet, and there is no doubt that in the North the horse and his faithful 
master would have attracted considerable notice. The affection that 
Comrade Sykes had for his horses was really something to be greatly 
admired, he treated them as friends and cared for them as faithfully as 
he would have done for any human being. 

Comrade John E. English drove a pair of handsome lead horses, to 
which he became very much attached The nigh horse was his especial 
favorite, and he named him "Ned." He often predicted that his horses 
would be the first killed. At Proctor's Creek they were among the first 
shot. In the midst of the row and excitement and danger of that eventful 
occasion, Comrade English's horses fell, and he was found, with his arms 
round the neck of Ned, crying and trying to help the poor horse to his 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 



423 



feet and get him away from the battle field, utterly oblivious to the danger 
to which he was exposing himself. 

In the hottest of the fight, Comrade James H. Reynolds, who was No. i 
of the 5th piece, left section, lifted up his foot, and holding it in his hand, 
commenced to hop about and call out : 

"I'm shot, I'm shot, I'm shot through the heel." 

The Corporal told him to go to the rear. When his boot was taken off 
no sign of any wound was found, but a slight indentation was seen on the 
leather of the boot heel, Reynolds insisted that he had been shot through 
the heel, but the surgeon was equally positive that the bullet had .not 
penetrated the leather. 

"I cannot walk, and that's a fact, wounded or not," Reynolds said, 
almost angrily. 

Later a very peculiar discovery was made. Blood was seen oozing 
from the boot on the foot which was supposed to be uninjured. On ex- 
amination it was found that the bullet had gone clear through his right heel 
and struck the leather counter of the left boot with such force that it had 
shocked the nerves and caused intense pain. Reynolds had walked from the 
front on the wounded foot, all the time thinking that it was the other that 
was injured. 

Comrade Richardson was wounded in a pecu- 
liar manner. In action drivers are permitted to 
get oft' their horses and lie down on the ground with 
the leading line twisted round the wrist. Com- 
rade Richardson, who had only recently become 
a driver, got off his horse and lay down between 
the ridges in the ploughed field, under his horse. 
The first fire killed the horses and they fell over 
him, but not in time to prevent a piece from strik- 
ing him and inflicting a nasty flesh wound. 

During the march to Proctor's Creek, Com- 

1 r>v -J rA 1 1- ^ <-l -^-^.^^A n^\^^ ALFRED E. LEONARD 

rade David Crossley was slightly injured. i he of Hebron 

Comrade says that, while the consequences were . Enii.sted Oct. 5, -oi; mustered 

-' ' ^ in Oct. 26, oi;re-enlistea Veteran 

quite serious in after years, the incident itself was P;,''>V^o'cior'sTS\4'rVo'. 

... . ,, ^TTT 1 J • i. i. moted Corporal Feb. 19, '65; mus- 

not particularly interesting. "We had jUst got tered out June n, '65. 




424 



HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 




our camp in apple-pie order and had our supper — I often think of those 

dried apples even yet — when 'Boots and Saddles' was sounded and we 

marched out of camp into the road back of, and parallel to the Bermuda 

Hundred lines. When we got into the road a halt was called. The comrades 

will remember that the Battery was kept as fully 
manned, equipped and housed as any in the ser- 
vice. This occasioned a lack of seats for the can- 
noneers on the march. 1 was seated on the 
caisson. One of the reserves. Comrade Fred 
Smith, I think, came along- with a crippled hand 
or arm, and during" the halt I said: 'Get up 
here and I will sit on the oat sacks on the 
rear chest.' I stood up and just as I grot on my 
feet ' Forward ' was sounded, and my feet went 
from under me as the horses moved forward, 
causing me to fall under the wheel. I managed to 
scramble out, though the wheel went over my 
knee, cutting the thick army drawers where they 
were creased, as with a knife. Capt. Rockwell 

had me put on a horse and taken to our hospital tent, which had been 

pitched in rear of Battery i, on the Bermuda Hundred line. I stayed in 

the hospital with Comrade McLean and we had it 

all to ourselves till the Battery came in, when I 

went to quarters on the bluff on James River. 

While I was in the hospital tent Lieut. Metcalf 

was brought in on a stretcher. I have often 

thought that if I had not been injured perhaps no 

one would have been hurt. When I was able 

to hobble round with a stick. Comrade Clinton 

asked me if I would take care of Capt. Rock- 
well's black mare with its long tail and kinky 

mane, the one that used to do the cakewalk. I 

soon found that limping up ravines with buckets 

of water, riding that mare and shaking my leg 

until I groaned in agony, was worse than being in 



DAVID CROSSLEY, 
of Simsbury, 
Enlisted Got. 2-^, 1861; mus- 
tered in Nov. 2, i86i: discharged, 
time expired, Nov. 2, 1864. 




LORENZO D. McLEAN, 
of New York City, 
Enlisted Jan. 9, 1862; mustered 
n Hospital Steward Feb. 6, 1862; 



discharged Feb 
expired. 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 



425 



battery, so I made application to be detailed back to my section, and it was 
granted." 

The Battery lost in that engagement, at Proctor's Creek, Lieut. George 
Metcalf and Private Henry Wilmot, killed; and Sergt. Elijah C. Tuttle, 
Corp. Alfred E. Leonard, Privates Frederick Besley, Charles N. Bissell, 
who lost an arm ; Hart Landon, Peter McGee, Charles Richardson, 
Thomas Sullivan, and James Reynolds, wounded. 

The Battery retired from the field after the battle was over, crossing 
the railroad again, and bivouacking in an old field just in rear of the skirm- 
ish line. 

On May 14th, Gen. Butler made his headquarters at the fine mansion of 
Dr. Friend, less than nine miles from Richmond. The following day 
he was joined by Gen. "Baldy" Smith, and Dr. Friend's house remained 
their headquarters during the advance toward Richmond. 




PLAYED OUT. 



CHAPTER XXII. 



A SUNDAY SKIRMISH. 




ARLY on Sunday morning, ere the sun had risen 
above the horizon, Comrade Albro returned to the 
camp, carrying orders for every spare man and horse 
to hurry to the front, and to have two days' rations 
prepared and sent forward. When the load of har- 
ness was seen it made the hearts of the comrades, 
who were in camp, very sad, for it told a tale of de- 
struction, of mangled horses and wounded men. It spoke strongly to the 
hearts of all, and each was afraid to question the comrade. 
Had any of the Battery boys been killed? 

The question trembled on the lips of many, but none cared to ask it. 
Each one knew that if any had fallen it would have been facing the foe, for 
the First Connecticut Light Battery was composed of men who 
"Standing wherever free men dare their fate. 
Determined to die or do! " 

Their devotion to principle amounted to moral sublimity. Whatever 
their sufferings, their privations, their hopes, they were all desirous of being 
identified with that mighty host of true men in all ages who believed that 
liberty was a sacred thing, and who, bending the knee to none but God, 
rendered homage to worth and merit, and offered their lives a sacrifice on 
the altar of freedom. 

Everyone knew that Sunday would be a day of terrible fighting. The 
enemy had realized what the Union success meant at that point. If Butler 
succeeded, then Richmond would fall, and with it much of the enthusiasm 
of the Confederates would be dampened and the end hastened. 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 427 

Gen. Gillmore had driven the enemy back into their second line of 
works, which, however, was as formidable to all appearance as the first, 
diverging from it to the westward, with its right well refused. Where these 
two lines crossed the railroad they were about a mile apart. Gen. Gillmore 
found that the second line was but a branch of the first, forming a junction 
with it in front of Drewry's Bluff, near the James River. Both lines were 
judiciously located, of great strength, naturally and artificially; had deep 
ditches on their exterior at every available point, and were well arranged 
for defense by both infantry and artillery. 

Gen. Smith, commanding the i8th Army Corps, went out on a 
reconnoisance, early on that Sunday morning, on the extreme right behind 
the cavalry picket. He found that there was a tolerably open, undulating 
country, extending to the river and to the work at Drewry's Bluff, offering 
every facility for the movement of a heavy column by the enemy on his 
(Smith's) right and rear. 

He reported to Gen. Butler that the necessary extension of his line 
had drawn him out into a very thin line of battle, and that he had no regi- 
ments with which to repair any break in his lines, and none to move to the 
right flank, whereupon the General commanding the department ordered 
Gen. Ames, who had three regiments at the Half-Way House, to act as 
a reserve for the line. 

Genl. Beauregard saw that the Union force was well disciphned and 
carefully placed, and that to dislodge it and save Richmond would require a 
daring plan of campaign, carried out with energy and dash. In his official 
report he outlines this plan of campaign as follows: 

" The line of the Union forces, under Butler, comprising the corps of 
Gillmore and W. F. Smith (loth and i8th), was generally parallel to oar 
intermediate line of works, somewhat curved, concentric and exterior 
to our own. They held our own outer line of works, crossing the turnpike 
half a mile in our front. Their line of breastworks and intrenchments 
increased in strength with its progress westward and northward; its right 
and weakest point was m the edge of William Gregory's woods, about half 
a mile west of James River. The line of hostile breastworks from their right 
flank continued westwardly, intersecting the turnpike near our outer line of 
fortifications. Near this point of intersection at Charles Friend's farm was 



428 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

advantageously posted a force of the enemy throughout the day's struggle, 
and here are said to have been the headquarters of Generals Butler and 
Smith. Butler's lines thence following partly the course of our outer works, 
crossed them and ran westwardly through fields and woods until after cross- 
ing the railroad, when his extreme left inclined to the north. 

"With the foregoing data I determined upon the following plan: That 
our left wing, turning and hurled upon Butler's weak right, should, with 
crushing force, double it back on its centre, thus interposing an easterly 
barrier between Butler and his base; that our right wing should, simul- 
taneously with its skirmishers, and afterward in force, as soon as the left 
became fully engaged, advance and occupy the enemy, to prevent his 
reinforcing his right, and thus form his northern barrier, without, however, 
prematurely seeking to force him far back before our left could completely 
outflank him and our Petersburg column close up his rear; and, finally, that 
the Petersburg column, marching to the sound of heaviest firing, should 
interpose a southern barrier to his retreat. Butler, thus environed by 
three walls of fire, with his defeated troops, could have no resource against 
substantial capture or destruction, except in an attempt at partial and 
hazardous escape westward, away from his base, trains, or supplies. Two 
difficulties alone might impede or defeat this plan. One was the possible 
stubborn and effective resistance of the enemy, in virtue of his superior 
numbers. Another (probably a graver one) existed as to the efficient, 
rapid handling of a fragmentary army like ours, so hastily assembled and 
organized — half the brigades without general officers, some of the troops 
unacquainted with their commanders and neighbors, staff officers unknown 
to each other, etc. The moral force which tells so significantly of the unity 
which springs from old association was entirely wanting, and from these 
causes, generally so productive of confusion and entanglement, great 
inconvenience arose. On the other hand, I reckoned on the advantages of 
being all in readiness at daybreak, with short distances over which to 
operate, a long day before me to maneuver in, plain, direct routes, and 
simplicity in the movements to be executed." 

Gen. Beauregard trusted to be able to arrange every detail, and place 
his force in the best position on the Sunday, so that early on Monday 
morning he could assume the offensive, and, as he expressed it in his 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 429 

" Circular" to his division commanders, " cut off the enemy from his base 
of operations at Bermuda Hundred, and capture or destroy him in his 
present position." 

Early in the morning- Col. Jackson, Chief of Artillery loth Army 
Corps, a regular army officer, gave orders to Capt. Rockv^ell and Capt. 
Zenas Warren, of the 5th New Jersey Battery, to take the batteries across 
the railroad into the murderous hole they were sent into the day before. 
This was an open field, and the enemy's guns commanded every inch of it. 
It was said that the enemy had practiced target shooting at that very field, 
and got the range absolutely perfect. They fired from forts and breast- 
works, with heavy guns, while the Union batteries had to fire from an open 
field with light guns. Yet, after the experience of the 14th, Col. Jackson 
ordered both Warren's and Rockwell's batteries into the same place again. 

Captains Rockwell and Warren knew if they got into that field again 
they would not be able to get their batteries out without a terrible loss, so 
they m.ade up their minds to protest at the proper time. Col. Jackson 
was Chief of Artillery, and his orders had all the authority of General Gill- 
more behind him. When Gen. Terry rode up to the Batteries he was 
met by the captains and the situation described to him, at the same time 
they told him that if Col. Jackson's orders were to stand they would 
obey, even if every man and gun were lost, but gave it as their opinion that 
nothing could save the batteries if the order was enforced. Capt. Rock- 
well disclaimed any idea of desire to criticise an order from a superior, or 
to shirk danger, but he was certain that the situation had been misunder- 
stood. Gen. Terry listened, with that courteous attention which always 
characterized his treatment of the officers in his command, and after a short 
hesitation, said : 

"Capt. Rockwell and Capt. Warren you are at liberty to place your 
batteries where you think they can do the most good. I leave it with you, 
because I know that I can rely on your judgment." 

The fate of the Connecticut Battery had depended on that moment's 
decision, for had it been sent into the same field again it would surely have 
been annihilated. 

The right section was ordered to the left of the line on picket duty, 
when it was engaged in a sharp artillery duel with the enemy. Corp. 



430 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

Huntington, who was at that time acting as sergeant, says the section was 
standing in the middle of the road, or pike, on a hill. About i,8oo yards 
away, across a ravine, was a clump of woods, and something had the appear- 
ance of earthworks, or a ditch; everything was quiet, no firing heard or 
enemy within sight. Some of the artillery officers, accompanied by infantry 
officers were curious to find out what was across the ravine, and also de- 
sirous of seeing a little artillery practice. They hitched their horses to a 
fence about one or two hundred feet in the rear, and walked to where the 
section was posted. They ordered Corp. Huntington, who was then acting- 
sergeant and commanding the section in place of Lieut. Metcalf, who was 
mortally wounded the day before, to fire. Corp. Huntington could not see 
anything to fire at, and as on the 14th, at Proctor's Creek, he had seen the 
evil results of firing promiscuously in the open where the enemy had a 
perfect range, and the Battery somewhat protected, did not think it wise to 
take any chances. He could not help thinking that if the officers wanted to 
satisfy their curiosity they ought to send out a thin skirmish line to feel the 
position about which they were so curious, but as a good soldier must keep 
his thoughts to himself, Corp. Huntington obeyed without question. It 
was artillery practice the officers seemingly wanted, and they got it. The 
first shot fired by the section just grazed the edge of the woods where the 
officers' curiosity was centered; the enemy instantly replied by sending a 
perfect line shot, which passed about ten feet over the heads of the comrades 
working the section guns, hitting and killing instantly the officers' horses 
that had been hitched to the fence. The officers' curiosity was gratified, 
but it cost them their horses, and made them hunt cover and walk the 
balance of the way. The enemy had a perfect line range on the spot where 
the section was located, but fired a little too high. One of the shells burst- 
ing over Corp. Huntington's gun, a piece struck it and chipped out a piece 
of metal, leaving a scar on the gun about an eighth of an inch deep. 
The artillery duel lasting about half an hour, suddenly stopped, the 
enemy ceasing to fire. Corp, Huntington did not know whether he 
silenced their guns, or they ran out of ammunition, or got tired and quit. 
After it was all over and the Corporal saw the horses lying by the fence, 
much as he regretted seeing anything hurt or property destroyed, could not 
help feeling pleased that the officers lost their horses and were compelled to 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 433 

walk back, for ordering such a foolish and uncalled for, senseless attack, 
wasting ammunition and endangering the section with the only tangible 
result, the loss of a few horses. 

The centre section was ordered into a ploughed field in front of the 
hospital, and not far from the battlefield of the previous day, to protect a 
portion of the line and feel the enemy's works. 

The Connecticut Battery was in an untenable position, and incapable of 
doing much good. The enemy had the range accurately, and it seemed 
almost miraculous that a man escaped. 

The rains had made the field soft, and every time the gun was fired it 
would recoil and sink into the mud up to the axles, which made firing 
difficult. The gun had to be lifted out of the mud by main strength after 
each shot, a detail of the 55th Pennsylvania being called to assist in extri- 
cating the guns. The infantry threw their blanket-rolls in a pile near a 
gun, and Capt. Rockwell, who accompanied the centre section, being very 
tired, sat on the pile. The bullets were flying about like hailstones, and 
the Captain had scarcely taken his seat when a bullet went through the roll 
on which he was seated, he moved, rather suddenly, for once acting without 
much deliberation, and tried to find a safer resting place, but some of the 
enemy's sharpshooters had a sight on him, and several bullets fell 
unpleasantly near, but, fortunately not one hit the mark, or the United 
States would have lost a good officer and the Battery an able commander. 

Corp. Scranton says that he was firing nearly all day, but could see 
nothing but smoke and earthworks to fire at, the enemy kept so well covered 
behind stumps and in the woods, the bullets from the sharpshooters flying 
about the heads of the Battery boys thick and fasr. There is no doubt that 
the accurate firing of Corporals Scranton and Holley, who were the gunners, 
assisted by the Union sharpshooters, kept the enemy dodging for cover so 
continually that they were unable to get good range 

During the engagement one shot struck the left piece on the tire, 
ricochetting to the hub, and burying itself in the ground. The hub-band 
flew off and struck Comrade Curtis Bacon, who was No. i, on the arm, 
making a wound from which he afterwards died. No. 3, Comrade William 
Davidson, was thumbing the vent when the wheel was struck, •and his face 
and breast were filled with splinters of iron, which caused him to believe he 



434 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

was dangerously wounded. He performed some curious gymnastic feats, 
and the red mud sticking to his clothes gave the impression to the comrades 
that he had received his call, and would never respond to the Battery bugle 
again. After a short time it was found that though he had received a 
severe shock to his nerves, he was physically none the worse for his 
experience. 

Comrade Davidson had only enlisted in the Battery in January of that 
year, and therefore was not so well accustomed to the freaks of shells and 
solid shots as the other members of the section. 

What a commotion that smashing of the wheel-hub caused ! The men 
were thrown down and the dirt sent up in the air. All was in inextricable 
confusion. For a few moments it was not known whether any of the com- 
rades had been killed or not. It seemed almost miraculous if all had 
escaped. Comrade Curtis Bacon was the only one injured. He was taken 
from the field and sent to the hospital. His wound was not considered very 
serious, but he died on July lo, that year, of hospital gangrene, at Fort 
Monroe. Comrade Bacon was one of the first to enlist in the Battery from 
Simsbury, entering his name on October 15, 1S61. He re-enlisted as Veteran 
December 19, 1863, and was only 25 years old when he died in the hospital. 

' ' Close his eyes ; his work is done ! 

What to him is friend or foeman, 
Rise of moon, or set of sun, 

Hand of man or kiss of woman ? 
Fold him in his country's stars, 

Roll the drum and fire the volley ! 
What to him are all our wars, 

What but death bemocking folly ? 
Leave him to God's watchful eye, 

Trust him to the hand that made him. 
Mortal love weeps idly by; 

God alone has power to aid him." 

Comrade Curtis Bacon had gone to his reward. "He had fought the 
good fight," and though he had not died on the field amid the shrieking 
shells and whistling bullets, but on the hospital cot, from disease caused by 
his wound, ^he deserved all the credit, and the immortal wreath of honor 
rested on his head. 




A PHOTOGRAPH OF THE WHEEL (STRUCK I!Y A SHEET, SUNDAY, MAY 15, 1864), MOUNTED 
IN THE BATTLE FLAG CORRIDOR OF THE CAPITOL AT HARTFORD, CONN. 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1805 



437 




Comrade James H. Gladding was standing close to the wheel when it 
was struck by the shot and Comrade Bacon was wounded. It was strange 
that he should escape without injury. To all it seemed more logical that he 
should have been the one to be injured, but there 
is no way of accounting for the strange happen- 
ings on the battlefield. Many times has Comrade 
Gladding held his friends and fellow-soldiers spell- 
bound as he dramatically described the scene of 
that moment, and up to the time of his death, 
though often racked with pain, he delighted to 
narrate his experience, and never failed to mur- 
mur a prayer of thankfulness for what he beheved 
to be an almost miraculous escape. 

Comrade Gladding was proud of his connec- 
tion with the Light Battery, and believed, to the 
end, that he had been engaged in a noble cause. 
He loved the flag and served his country faith- 
fully and well. 

Capt. Rockwell had the injured wheel sent 
North, where it found a resting place in the Battle Flag Corridor of the State 
Capitol in Hartford, a constant reminder of the valor and patriotism of the 
First Connecticut Light Battery. 

Very soon after the wheel was struck the section was withdrawn to a 
position near the hospital. 

Marston's command, consisting of three regiments of his brigade, and 
the 39th Illinois, was pushed forward in front of the redoubt on the west of 
the railroad in support of the right and centre sections of the Connecticut 
Battery, which were posted at the same point, and Warren's Battery which 
was on the right of the road in front of the 55th Pennsylvania. 

A heavy cannonade upon the redoubt, directly in front of Terry's right, 
did terrible execution. The enemy's sharpshooters were very annoying, and 
Gen. Terry resolved to make a determined effort to drive them in. For 
this purpose the first lines of Hawley's and Plaisted's brigades advanced in 
the most gallant manner up the hill, and secured a partially protected position 
within 300 yards of the enemy's works. Gen. Terry says: "This position 



JAMES H. GLADDING, 
of Wethersfield. 
Enlisted Oct. 26, 1861 ; mustered 
in Nov. 2. 1861; discharged, time 
expired, Nov. 2, 1864 Died April 
2, 1S96, aged 72 years. 



438 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

was never afterward lost until orders were given to fall back, on the morn- 
ing of the i6th, although several desperate charges were made upon it by 
the enemy." 

During the afternoon Gen. Terry was directed, by Maj,-Gen. Gillmore, 
to examine the redoubt on the right of the line, and to report on the 
practicability of taking it by assault. He found that it was a strong work 
of high relief, and at least partially covered by an abatis; that an assault 
would in all probability sacrifice many men, with a doubtful result. Gen. 
Terry adds: " Under the supposition that the redoubt directly in Marston's 
front was the extreme left of the enemy's line, I also examined the ground 
in the vicinity with reference to a turning movement similar to that by 
which we had obtained possession of the first line of works. This exami- 
nation disclosed the existence of a formidable chain of works, and demon- 
strated the impossibility of the operation unless attempted by a large 
force moving on an arc of very considerable radius. During the afternoon 
one of Gen. Marston's regiments was placed upon the hill, captured on the 
13th, with an outpost of four companies at Salem Church on the Chesterfield 
road, and the first New York Mounted Rifles, under Col. Onderdonk, 
which had reported to me, were directed to connect the church with Marston's 
left by a chain of vedettes. The nth Maine Volunteers, of Plaisted's 
brigade, which reported during the afternoon, were also sent to the hill. 
At nightfall the batteries were withdrawn from their advanced position, and 
the infantry were directed to intrench themselves. Shortly after dark the 
enemy made a vigorous assault upon Hawley's front, but they were thrown 
back upon their works with equal vigor. The night passed quietly." 

The left section was posted in reserve on a hill ready for action in case 
of a general attack. It had been so badly crippled at Proctor's Creek the 
day before, that it was not sent on the outposts. Some of the left section 
men were detailed for service in right and centre sections, to take the place 
of the men who were wounded in tne action of the 14th and of those who 
were on the sick list 

Comrade Griswold says that when they fell back at night they were 
very nearly used up in those "four days of severe fighting; and our poor 
horses, having been in harness all the time, were in sad condition. The 
flesh upon their breasts could be taken out in handfuls, so sore and raw had 
it become by the chafing of the harness." 



CHAPTER XXIII. 



THE BATTLE OF DREWRY'S BLUFF. 




EN. BEAUREGARD intended that the battle on May 
1 6th, should be a decisive one. He laid his plans so 
carefully that it seemed as though success must crown 
his efforts. No longer would he act on the defen- 
sive, but by a vigorous onslaught all along the line 
drive the Union force from its position, and either 
defeat it or render it powerless until the end of the 
war. 

In the early afternoon of Sunday, May 15th, he 
assembled the division commanders and addressed them with warmth and 
enthusiasm so characteristic of the South, and with that earnest eloquence 
which always inspired men with courage. But not satisfied with merely oral 
instructions, he gave to each commander a "circular" setting forth what 
it was intended to do, and impressing on each the object of the attack 
which was : 

"To cut off the enemy from the base of operations at Bermuda 
Hundred, and capture or destroy him in his present position. To this end 
we shall attack and turn, by the river road, his right flank, now resting on 
James River, while his centre and left] flank are kept engaged to prevent 
him from reinforcing his right flank." 

With mathematical precision Beauregard assigned a specific work to 
each commander. 

"Maj.-Gen, Ransom's skirmishers will drive back vigorously those of 
the enemy in his front, and will be followed closely by his line of battle 
which will, at the proper time, pivot on its right flank, so as to take the 



440 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

enemy in flank and rear. He will form in two lines of battle, and will use 
his battalion of artillery to the best advantage. Col. Dunovant's regiment 
of cavalry will move with this division under the direction of Gen. Ransom. 
Maj.-Gen. Hoke's division, now in the trenches on the right of the position 
herein assigned to Gen. Ransom, will, at daylight, engage the enemy with 
a heavy line of skirmishers, and will hold the rest of his forces in hand to 
attack with vigor the enemy's line in his front as soon as he shall find 
it wavering before his skirmishers or as soon as Ransom's line of 
battle shall have become fairly engaged with the enemy. Gen. Hoke will 
form in two lines of battle, 400 yards apart, in front of his trenches at the 
proper time, and in such manner as not to delay his forward movement. 
He will use his battalion of artillery to the best advantage. Col. Baker's 
regiment of cavalry will move in conjunction with Hoke's division, so as to 
protect his right flank. Col. Shingler's regiment of cavalry will move with 
the reserve division. 

"The division commanded by Brig. -Gen. Colquitt will constitute the 
reserve, and will to-night form in column by brigade in rear of Hoke's 
present position, the centre of each brigade resting on the turnpike. The 
division will be inassed under cover of the hills now occupied by Hoke's 
troops, so as to be sheltered at the outset from the enemy's fire in front. 
During the movement the head of the reserve column will be kept at a 
distance of about 500 yards from Hoke's second line of battle. As soon as 
practicable the intervals between the brigades of the reserve division will be 
maintained at from 200 to 300 yards. The reserve artillery, under Gen. 
Colquitt, will follow along the turnpike about 300 yards in rear of the last 
brigade. Simultaneously with these movements, Maj.-Gen. Whiting will 
move with his division from Petersburg along the Petersburg and Richmond 
turnpike, and attack the enemy's flank and rear. 

"In the meantime they will give all necessary instructions for provid- 
ing their respective commands with 60 rounds of ammimition issued to each 
man, and at least 20 rounds for each in reserve. They will cause their 
commands to be supplied with two days' cooked rations." 

Such were the instructions issued to the Confederate commanders on 
Sunday afternoon. 

Monday morning opened with the densest fog ever experienced in the 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 441 

valley of the James, a fog which commenced during- the night and lasted 
several hours after dawn. General Ransom, however, moved at 4,45 a. m., 
and was soon engaged in a spirited assault on the Union line. 

Brigadier-General Weitzel reports that on the morning of the i6th the 
fog was so dense that it was impossible to see more than a few yards, and in 
the worst of the fog heavy firing commenced on his right. 

General Heckman's Brigade, of Weitzel's Division, held Smith's right. 
After a gallant fight it was overwhelmed by the sudden and heavy blow, and 
General Heckman was captured. 

The enemy succeeded in gaining the rear of that flank, and was pres- 
sing on to seize the road leading to Bermuda Hundred, when the 112th New 
York, of Ames' Division, of Gillmore's Corps, came up. Being at the same 
time reinforced by the 9th Maine, the two regiments checked the assailants 
by such a fierce and stubborn resistance that the enemy first halted and 
then withdrew. 

General Smith had caused the stretching of telegraph wire from stump 
to stump, a short distance above the ground, in front of this line, which 
tripped the assailants when they charged in the dense fog, and they were 
shot or bayoneted before they could rise. They recoiled, and that part of 
Beauregard's plan entirely miscarried. 

The other seven regiments of Weitzel's "division did not move until 
after they had thrice repulsed the enemy with terrible slaughter, they being 
piled in heaps over the telegraph wire. They were ordered to fall back." 

Weitzel's division, or what was left of it, assumed the second position 
covering the direct road past Dr. Howlett's house, advanced with four 
regiments in echelon with skirmishers well advanced to recover the lost 
ground, in order, at least, to get the wounded; but his skirmish line could 
not get quite up to the position, because the Confederates had a line of 
battle too strong to attack on his side of the rude breastwork, so he never 
regained the original position. 

Confederate General Ransom reports that "despite the density of the 
fog, the advance was ordered at the hour appointed. Very quickly the 
strong line of our skirmishers became engaged, and the enemy was pressed 
as vigorously as possible across the open field in front and to the right of 
Willis' house, and after a little over one hour's stubborn fighting the enemy's 



442 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

rifle pits and breastworks were carried about one hundred yards inside the 
woods and in front of the fields. These works ran along a small wood lead- 
ing from the river road to the turnpike. After taking the works, I found 
that from the perfect inability to see anything, the lines had become con- 
fused and required readjusting, and that ammunition had to be replenished 
throughout. I sent to General Beauregard for fresh troops to continue the 
pressure upon the enemy. In taking the breastworks, five stand of colors, 
one brigadier-general, and about four hundred prisoners were captured." 

Comrade Sloan gives it as his opinion that the trouble on Monday 
morning " arose from the fact that the ist U. S. Cavalry (colored), were the 
extreme right of the line. The Confederates had an advantage in the dense 
fog and attacked along the line, this regiment gave way, offering no resist- 
ance, allowing a large force of the enemy to get in our rear and capture a full 
brigade, which joined them, so getting between us and our base." 

General Smith had discovered, by his reconnoisance, that there was 
about a mile of open country between the right of his infantry line and the 
James River, which was merely picketed by a battalion of the ist U. S. 
Colored Cavalry, a force which had practically been untested, and which, 
even if it had been the best, was wholly inadequate to withstand a 
determined attack of a line of battle. General Smith made some efforts to 
extend and strengthen his right, but evidently had not regiments enough to 
do it effectively. Smith knew that his line was weak and Beauregard knew 
it also and determined to make his heaviest attack at that point. The 
attack was no surprise, but its determined character was hidden by the fog. 
Gen. Burnham was attacked immediately after daylight, his brigade 
being shelled quite severely, while the enemy made a furious attack with his 
infantry on the troops to the right of the pike. The attack gradually ex- 
tended to the left, and in the course of an hour Burnham's brigade was 
involved in a furious fight. His skirmishers were driven in after an obsti- 
nate resistance, bringing with them 20 prisoners. Gen, Burnham of- 
ficially reported that "The attack now became more furious, when 
Lieut. -Col. M. B. Smith, commanding the 8th Connecticut Volunteers, on 
the extreme right of my brigade, next to the pike, after making but 
feeble resistance, abandoned the line of fortifications, and ordered his 
regiment to fall back, which he did in considerable confusion. The re- 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 443 

maining' three regiments met the attack of the enemy, and, pouring a 
withering fire of musketry upon him, drove him back in confusion. The 
attack was again renewed, the enemy attempting to carry the position by a 
furious charge, but he was again repulsed, with a heavy loss in killed, 
wounded, and prisoners. I think, on this occasion, that some telegraph 
wire which I had ordered to be strung on the stumps in front of our posi- 
tion had a good effect in throwing the enemy into confusion as he charged 
my position. The fight continued to rage hotly, my command holding its 
position with great tenacity, with the exception that the line of the ii8th 
New York was somewhat modified to protect the right flank of the brigade, 
which was strongly threatened by the enemy." 

Lieut. -Col. Martin B. Smith, commanding the 8th Connecticut Volun- 
teers, defends himself by saying: 

" The enemy charged on our forces to our right and drove them, leav- 
ing our flank entirely exposed. Finding our right flank thus exposed, I 
ordered three companies to protect our flank, but it was found impossible 
to hold that position, therefore they fell back under cover of the woods. 
We held our position on the works for some time, with considerable loss, 
until flanked right and left, when we fell back in as good order as possible 
under the circumstances, the fog and smoke being so dense that it was 
impossible for officers or men to distinguish each other. We then took a 
position between the loth New Hampshire Volunteers and the :i8th New 
York Volunteers. We remained in that position until the ii8th New York 
fell back, when we took our position on the right of the loth New Hamp- 
shire Volunteers, where we remained until nearly noon, when we were 
ordered to fall back." 

About 6.20 a.m. Gen. Gillmore received a dispatch from Gen. Butler, 
dated 6 a.m. 

" The enemy has advanced from his works on our right and made a 
vigorous demonstration there; a rapid movement on the left would, I think, 
carry his lines in your front. Make it at once." 

While Gen. Gillmore was reading this dispatch Gen. Terry was en- 
gaged in a furious engagement with the enemy. Three assaults were made 
on his right and centre, the enemy leaping over their works, and advancing 



444 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

with great speed and determination. In each case they were driven back 
with great loss, having made no impression on Terry's lines. 

Gen. Gillmore at once replied to Gen. Butler: 

" Your orders to charge the enemy's line will be obeyed as soon as our 
troops are ready. Terry has just repulsed an assault on part of the line." 

Half an hour later General Gillmore sent this dispatch to Major-General 
Butler: 

" There have been three assaults on General Terry's front; each has 
been repulsed handsomely. The assaults were in force. If I move to the 
assault and meet a repulse, our loss would be fearful." 

General Butler ordered Gillmore to send a regiment to report to Gen- 
eral Smith, and at 7.40 a. m. a regiment was taken from Turner's line and 
sent to General Smith, and soon after the 7th New Hampshire and the nth 
Maine Volunteers were sent from Terry's division to the Half- Way House 
on the turnpike. 

Comrade Sloan says that about this time in the morning "the generals 
were holding a council of war at the hospital, when every gun the Confed- 
erates had was fired and it seemed as if every shell went over our park. 
All the generals, led by Butler, started to the rear, about as fast as their 
horses could carry them. Soon orders were received which resulted in 
loading all the ammunition in the chests of the centre section, and we 
started for the front under the command of Lieutenant Smith." 

The enemy's attack in the thick fog of the early morning made no im- 
pression on the loth Corps' front. Hawley's brigade repulsed several 
charges most gallantly with heavy loss, but the capture of General Heckman 
and his brigade made it necessary to change the line of battle. The Bat- 
tery was ordered to work its way to the right of. the loth Corps, which move- 
ment was effected slowly, and with frequent halting. A few shots were 
fired during the march, but no serious engagement took place. 

The right and left sections were ordered back into the reserve line, 
and posted in positions ready to repulse a general assault, as it was feared 
the enemy, after the morning's victory, would be flushed with success and 
would try again to rush the Unionists and force them back. 

The centre section, under Lieut. Smith, with Corporals Scranton and 



fe'.; 



mn' ,7 







FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 447 

Holley as gunners, was left in front to cover the retreat, and the section had 
plenty of hot work before it joined the Battery again. 

The centre section was stationed at the right of the loth Army Corps 
near where it joined the i8th Corps, supported by a New York regiment. 
At the first hot fire from the enemy the New York regiment broke and 
ran away, leaving the section without support. 

Comrade Sloan recalls that incident and says: " For some reason the 
New York regiment became rattled and broke, rushing through us like a 
flock of sheep. A small force of the enemy showed on the edge of the 
woods, but our canister persuaded them to stay where they were. As soon 
as the break was over General Terry, who commanded that day rode to 
our position and inquired of Lieutenant Smith if his men were all there, 
supposing that in the rush some of the men had taken the scare, but not 
one comrade left his post. As far as I personally was concerned, it never 
occurred to me that there was any possibility of leaving the piece, without 
orders. During his last sickness I saw General Terry several times, and in 
referring to that day, he said that he was proud of the fact that Connecticut 
soldiers would stay at their posts in the face of such a break rushing by 
them." 

The section stood firm, loaded with canister, and fired a few rounds of 
the deadly missiles into the enemy, effectually checking the Confederate 
rush until other support, arrived. For a few minutes the section was in the 
greatest danger of being captured. 

Soon after this a considerable force of the enemy was seen moving 
down the pike to reinforce the troops which were trying to cut off the Union 
army from its base of supplies. The Connecticut Battery section was or- 
dered to check the march. Comrades Scranton and Holley were as good 
gunners as any in the United States army, and they soon got the range and 
sent the shells where they would do the most damage. 

It was terrible to see the great gaps left in the ranks of the enemy after 
each shell exploded. The comrades could see the men fall, and almost hear 
the order to "close up," as the gaps became so palpable. 

During most of that day the section remained in battery on the ex- 
treme front line to cover the retreat which was being made very deliberate- 
ly. This gave the section plenty to do and it had fired all its ammunition, 



448 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

save one shell, and yet no orders had come to withdraw. It looked, at one 
time, as if the section was to be sacrificed. Although out of ammunition 
the section remained in battery, going through all the motions of loading, 
with nothing to fire at the enemy but blank cartridges. To make things 
look blacker to the comrades a rumor reached them that the ammunition 
train had been cut off, which, if true, would place the section in a very dubi- 
ous position. 

Comrade Oliver K. Abels was No. 4 on one of the guns. He was a wide- 
awake, impetuous, intelligent, and courageous man. Comrade Tallmadge 
describes him as a man with less faults and more virtues than any other 
person he was ever acquainted with. The rumor had just been received 
about the cutting off of the ammunition train, and No, 5, on the same gun 
with Comrade Abels, was trotting down with a shell, and exclaimed: 
" Here's the last shot! " Instantly Abels grabbed it away from No. 5, and 
hugging it to his breast, with both arms around it, said: 

"O, don't fire it! No, sir, I Gaddy ! I won't let you fire this now, we 
ma}' need it more later." 

Inasmuch as the way Comrade Abels confiscated the shell was not in 
his line of duty, the manner in which he clasped the shell to his bosom and 
begged Corporal Scranton to save it for a time when it would be more 
needed, amused the detachment. Comrade Abels was evidently looking for 
more serious times than they had yet encountered and wanted f/ie last 
shell to count for something when the enemy got nearer, so did not want it 
wasted at long range. 

For some minutes the section remained in battery without ammunition ; 
it seemed to each that hours had been so spent, their minds wondering 
what would be their fate if the enemy were to rush them. When the order 
came to retire it was obeyed cheerfull)^ and the section soon reached the 
position occupied by the right and left sections, when their limbers were 
filled with ammunition, and Comrade Abels was especially happy and 
ready for another chance " at 'ein." He had not to wait long. 

Speaking of that episode and retreat. Comrade Sloan says: "When 
we had fired all but one shell Comrade Oliver Abels took that, and holding 
it in his arms, insisted on keeping it for a time when it would be more 
needed. When it was seen that the right was holding its ground, we were 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 449 

ordered to the rear, and left with only one blank cartridge in both chests. 
We were obliged to move slowly, so as not to attract attention, and not get 
too far from the skirmish line, which was following us in. I was not lucky 
enough to get a seat on the limber, so had to follow on foot. I soon picked 
up the sponge staff, which had been shaken off, and later a bucket, and made 
the best time I could in keeping up, but the section had reached the point 
where the rest of the Battery was in reserve before I overtook it. 

" Here we received a supply of ammunition, and waited until the 
skirmishers were safe, when we started for camp. 

"When we reached the turnpike the enemy had two pieces on a hill 
about 2,000 yards distant and were raking the pike in great shape. A 
section of the ist U. S. Artillery tried to shake them up, but the Parrots 
would not reach as far and our section was ordered in the road. The 
enemy had our range, and the shells went down the road on either side of 
us, fortunately doing no damage. We sent them off by making it too hot for 
them. 

" We then started for camp, with a motley array of camp followers and 

stragglers. 

" As we reached the cross-road which led back to Bermuda Hundred, 
we found the darky cavalry, that had been the cause of our early morning 
trouble, stationed to stop stragglers, and Capt. Rockwell had to vouch for 
all the men with the pieces, otherwise they would have been arrested as 
stragglers." 

Gen. Gillmore received orders to "hold the road to intrenchments at 

all hazards." 

Up to that time Generals Terry and Turner still held the front line 
along which their commands had moved by the right flank 10 keep up con- 
nection with Gen. Smith's left. They were both actively engaged under 
the orders to attack the enemy in flank, and could not withdraw quickly 
without great loss. A part of their commands not engaged had been sent 
to the rear. Gen. Gillmore at once sent peremptory orders to them to re- 
tire, and the final withdrawal of the troops engaged, began about 10.15 
a. m., just as Gen. Gillmore received the following order: 

In Field — 10 o'clock. 

The commanding general directs that you move to the right and rear 



I 



450 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

of Smith to hold the turnpike, Smith pressing- to his right to hold the road 
there. Smith can't move till you reach the turnpike. Get there at once. 
The troops at Gen. Ames' old position at junction are forced back. If you 
don't reach the pike at once we must lose it or the short road on the right 
of Smith. Press strongly. This is peremptory. We will lose turnpike un- 
less you hurry. 

By command of Gen. Butler. 

J. W. SCHAFFER, 

Col. and Chief of Staff. 

Orders were given Gen. Terry to take the by-paths leading from his 
position to the turnpike near Proctor's Creek. Scarcely had Terry received 
this order when the enemy again charged upon Turner's division and 
Terry's right and center. For a few minutes the enemy's fire of artillery 
was very severe, but it was soon repulsed with heavy loss. The 24th 
Massachusetts and the loth Connecticut, of Plaisted's brigade, was sent to 
reinforce the troops already at the Half-Way House. The 7th Connecticut 
and 3d New Hampshire, of Hawley's brigade, were put in position on a hill 
just in advance of Proctor's Creek, and the remainder of Terry's command 
was formed near Perdue's house. 

Terry received orders from Gen. Butler, in person, to take command 
of the troops at the Half- Way House, and to remain there until the whole of 
Gen. Brooks' command, then retiring on the right, should have passed that 
point. While waiting at that point the enemy opened on the troops with 
artillery at short range. Two sections of James' Rhode Island Battery on the 
right replied and silenced the enemy's guns. 

After the withdrawal of Gen. Brooks' force, the whole of the corps re- 
tired to the intrenchments. 

Gen. Terry placed much reliance on Rockwell's Battery, detailing it to 
cover the retreat to Bermuda Front. The right section was posted on 
prominent hills and knolls, and at cross-roads, taking positions as they re- 
treated, remaining at each position until the infantry had passed, then lim- 
bering up and retiring to another commanding position. 

On the retreat Corporal Scranton was directed by Capt. Rockwell to fire 
at an earthwork behind which were guns and sharpshooters, causing con- 
siderable annoyance to the retiring columns. 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861-1865 



451 




"Can you stop those fellows, Scranton ? " the Captain asked. 
"I don't know, sir, but I can try," answered the Corporal. 
The first shot just skimmed the top of the enemy's works, making the 
Confederates dodge. Corporal Scranton called to his No, 6, Comrade Tall- 
madge: 

" Give me a little longer fuse." 

The fuse Tallmadge cut for the second shell was just right; it dropped 
into the enemy's works and exploded. 

Comrade Samuel W. Scranton often comments 
I on Comrade Tallmadge's good judgment and steady 

nerve in action while preparing ammunition, cuttino- 
fuses, etc. No. 6 was one of the most responsible 
positions in the gun detachment and the very best 
men were selected for that place. 

During this artillery duel the enemy quit the 
field, though there were no means of finding out 
the damage inflicted, the shots seemed to fall 
right, and certainly made the enemy change 
positions. 

Comrade Sloan says that just before arrivino- 
at camp there was a ravine, in the bottom of which 
was a spring of delicious water. He collected as 
many canteens as he could carry and filled them 
with the water. As he was returning he met a friend from the 7th Con- 
necticut, W. H. Pierpont, of New Haven, who had been wounded in the 
arm, and was going to the rear, carrying his musket. His wound was quite 
serious, though after some nursing in the North, he was able to resume 
active service, rising from sergeant to captain. 

When the intrenchments were reached the comrades found that two 
companies of the First Connecticut Heavy Artillery had been sent to rein- 
force the loth Corps, from the forts around Washington, and they had al- 
ready constructed a line of earthworks. 

Comrade Sloan says: "As I went inside this line I met several whom 
I knew, and tried to scare them by telling them a lot of stories of the im- 
mense armies of Confederates that were following us. There was a great 



HENRY H. TALLMADGE, 
of Granby. 

Enlisted Nov. 4, 1S61; mustered 
in Nov. 13, 1S61; discharged Nov. 
13, 1864, time expired. 



452 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

contrast in our appearance: they were clean, had white belts, bright brass 
buttons, while the little sleep I had been able to get for a week had been 
taken on the ground, and the smoke and dirt had given me the complexion 
of a darky. We were fortunate if we got enough water to drink and did not 
bother to wash. As soon as I reached camp I wrote a line home, and then 
went to the river and took a bath. 

"We had been through a very hard time, and met with the most severe 
loss of our service, both in men and horses, and had it not been for the 
thoughtfulness and ability of Capt. Rockwell, we should, have met with 
many more serious losses." 

Comrade Griswold, speaking of that retreat, says: "Our camps were 
over in the rear of the right of the line, and we were already cut ofE from the 
regular road. What a time! Everybody in a hurry to get to the rear 
before the enemy had us! The infantry could get through the woods all 
right, but to get a battery through was a different thing, but with the 
assistance of the engineers and Col. Hawley's regiment, we finally got 
through the woods and came into an open field. The sun was now shining, 
and there stretched across this field a handsome sight. It was the First 
Connecticut Heavy Artillery, which had just arrived from the forts at 
Washington, and composed of some 2,000 men. Hov/ clean and nice they 
looked, and how dirty and mean it made us feel. They were posted there 
to stop skedaddlers. We returned to camp and learned that Lieut. Metcalf's 
body had been brought into camp and the next day was buried at Bermuda 
Himdred. " 

That ever-watchful comrade, Charles Hotchkiss, gives his account of 
the fighting at Drewry's Bluff in his usual style. He says: 

"The enemy massed in a thick fog in the morning with heavy columns 
of fresh troops. Our generals evidently did not know it, and the enemy 
came down on our forces like an avalanche. I could, as soon as the fog 
lifted, see the battle from our camp. I don't care to witness another. I 
could see the fighting above, but the suffering men were all about. War is 
terrible. Our gunboats have been working up the river, fishing for 
torpedoes, and have now got abreast of our line of breastworks which extend 
from the James to the Appomattox. Our camps are now safe for the 
present, or at least those within reach of the guns on our vessels; the enemy 
give a wide berth to those o-uns. 



I 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861-1865 453 

' ' It was near dark when our whole brigade fell back to the camps. The 
poor fellows looked hard worked, and our Battery appeared surely as though 
it had been through the war; the uniforms tattered and torn, a lame horse 
here a wheel gone there, some of the men bandaged up, etc. I was 
prepared for them, and had the rations all ready and plenty of good strong 
coffee, and our coffee is invariably good, and plenty of it. The United 
States did not skimp the men on coffee." 

The 6th Connecticut occupied the extreme front at the center of the 
line, on picket. The Historian of the regiment tells of that day's battle m 

these words: 

-Just before daylight, while a thick fog prevailed, the rebels massed 
their forces and made a very determined dash in our front, charging upon 
us furiously, shouting with that pecuhar yell so characteristic of the 
Johnnies We knew they outnumbered us, and to stand alone as a picket 
line would be of no avail; yet we emptied our rifles at them several tu^es 
and fell slowly back upon the reserve. They proved too strong for our 
corps and it gave way gradually. We did not ' retreat, ' but ' changed front 
to the rear,' and contested every foot of ground; but the enemy, knowing 
our strength, forced us back slowly but surely. The turnpike, bemg the 
safest ground to pass over, was besieged by the troops; ambulances carry- 
in^, the wounded, negro men and women, rebel prisoners and Union soldiers 
fined the roadway, while heads of staff were busy issuing orders to the 
different regiments to form here and there to check the rebel advance. One 
reo-iment would file in a piece of woods; another make a stand in a ravine, 
while our batteries limbered up to get a better position and the whole force 
resisted bravely the attack. We were forced back about six miles, and, a 
night came on, the battle ended. The loss on our side was much larger 

than that of the rebels." 

Gen. Butler's report to the Hon. E. M. Stanton, Secretary of ^\ar, was 

very brief, and was worded as follows : 

" '.On Monday morning about sunrise the enemy, having received re- 
inforcements which made them equal to my command, taking advantage o 
a very thick fog, made an attack upon the right of Gen. Smith's line, and 
forced it back in some confusion and with considerable loss. As soon as 
the foo- lifted Gen. Smith's lines were re-established and the enemy was 



454 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

driven back to his original lines. The troops having been on incessant duty 
for five days, three of which were in a rainstorm, I retired at leisure within 
my own lines." 

Gen. Grant did not seem altogether pleased with the result of the fight 
at Drewry's Bluff, for in his report to the Secretary of War, he says: 

" On the evening of the 13th and morning of the 14th, Gen. Butler 
carried a portion of the enemy's first line of defenses at Drewry's Bluff, or 
Fort Darling, with small loss. On the i6th, the enemy attacked Gen, 
Butler in his position in front of Drewry's Bluff. He was forced back, or 
drew back, into his intrenchments between the forks of the James and Ap- 
pomattox Rivers, the enemy intrenching strongly in his front, thus cover- 
ing his railroads, the city, and all that was valuable to him. His army, 
therefore, though in a position of great security, was as completely shut off 
from further operations against Richmond as if it had been in a bottle 
strongly corked. It required but a comparatively small force of cavalry to 
hold it there. The army sent to operate against Richmond having hermeti- 
cally sealed itself up at Bermuda Hundred, the enemy was enabled to bring 
the most, if not all, the reinforcements brought from the South by Beaure- 
gard against the Army of the Potomac." 

General Butler took issue with Lieutenant-General Grant and declared 
that his movement had been highly successful. "I occupied an almost 
impregnable position," he said, "with the two rivers on each flank at my 
command, and I could have struck a most determined blow for the capture 
of Petersburg, had I not been ordered to send nearly two-thirds of my 
effective men to the north side of the James to assist the Army of the 
Potomac, which was contending with Lee in the vicinity of the Chicka- 
hominy. " 

Lieut. -Col. Fuller, under date, May 20th, 1864, wrote to Col. J.W. Shaf- 
fer, Chief of Staff, that he had just seen a Richmond paper, in which the 
Confederates acknowledged a loss of 1,500 in killed and wounded at 
Drewry's Bluff. Among the list of 1,000 prisoners were Gen. Heckman, 
Col. Lee, 27th Massachuestts; Col. White, 55th Pennsylvania; Lieut. -Col. 
Bennett, 55th Pennsylvania; Lieut. -Col. Bartholomew, 27th Massachusetts; 
Capt. Belger, and others of lower rank. Heckman refused to be searched 
at Libby Prison, showed fight, but was threatened with the black hole and 
succumbed. 



FIRST LIGHT BATTERY, 1861—1865 455 

Col. T. L. Livermore in his ''■Numbers and Losses in the Civil War 
in America, iS6i-i86^," gives the details of the losses as follows: 

Union Army: Effectives engaged 15,800 

Killed 390 

Wounded 2,380 2,770 

Missing 1,390 

Total loss 4,160 

Confederate Army : Effectives engaged 18,025 

Killed and wounded 2,860 

Missing 210 

Total loss 3,070 















WAITING FOR SOMETHING TO TURN UP. 



End of Volume I. 



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